Quinnipiac University
Encyclopedia
Quinnipiac University is a private
, nonsectarian
, coeducation
al university
located in Hamden
, Connecticut
, United States
at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park
. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communications; School of Health Sciences; School of Law
; School of Nursing and School of Education. U.S. News & World Report
's 2009 America's Best Colleges issue has ranked Quinnipiac University first among northern universities with master's degree programs as having made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, campus or facilities. Quinnipiac is home to a well-known Polling Institute
.
Quinnipiac University was founded in 1929 by Samuel W. Tator, a business professor and politician. Judge Phillip Troup, a Yale College
graduate, and Tator's wife, Irmagarde Tator, a Mount Holyoke College
graduate, also played major roles in the fledgling institution's founding and nurturing;the former became its first president until his death in 1939; the latter, its first bursar.
Quinnipiac was conceived in reaction to Northeastern University's abandonment of its New Haven, Connecticut
program at the onset of the Great Depression
. Originally, Quinnipiac was located in New Haven and called Connecticut College of Commerce. On opening its doors in 1929, it enrolled under 200, and its first graduating class featured only eight students. At the time, it awarded only associate's degrees. In 1935, the college changed its name to Junior College of Commerce.
From 1943-1945, the college closed; nearly its entire student body was drafted into World War II
. Upon re-opening, the college's enrollment nearly quadrupled to approximately 800 students.
In 1951, the institution was renamed Quinnipiac College, in honor of the Quinnipiac
Indian tribe that once inhabited Greater New Haven
. That same year, Quinnipiac began to confer bachelor's degrees. In 1952, Quinnipiac expanded rapidly, both physically and in terms of curriculum, relocating to a larger campus in New Haven, and also assuming administrative control of Larson College, a private women's college.
In 1966, after having outgrown its campus in New Haven, Quinnipiac moved to its current campus in Hamden, Connecticut
's Mount Carmel section, at the foot of Sleeping Giant Park
. Quinnipiac's relatively uniform red-brick architecture results from much of it being built at (or around) that time. During the 1970s, Quinnipiac began to offer master's degrees in a variety of disciplines.
Until the 1990s, Quinnipiac remained primarily a commuter college with only a regional reputation; however, that changed during the next decade. In 1995, the University of Bridgeport
's law school migrated to Quinnipiac. That same year, the American Bar Association
accredited Quinnipiac to award the Juris Doctor
degree. The Quinnipiac School of Law Center was dedicated later that year as well. Also, during the mid-1990s, Quinnipiac's communication and business programs, respectively, built state-of-the-art facilities and attracted nationally-known professors. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute was noted for excellence by several prominent journalistic outlets, and often cited during the 1998 and 2000 election campaigns.
On July 1, 2000, the school officially changed its name to Quinnipiac University—to reflect its relatively new breadth in academic offerings. That same year, Quinnipiac University received accreditation by AACSB.
Currently, Quinnipiac offers 52 undergraduate majors, 20 graduate programs, and a JD
program. Its new medical school plans to admit students starting in 2013. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute often garners the university national media attention.
The university operates several media outlets, including a professionally-run, commercial radio station WQUN
, founded by journalist and Quinnipiac professor Lou Adler. The university also operates a student-run FM radio station WQAQ
, which concurrently streams on the Internet. A student-run television station, Q30
, can be viewed only on campus. Also, a student-produced newspaper, The Chronicle, established in 1929, publishes 2,500 copies every Wednesday.
Quinnipiac is home to one of the world's largest collections of art commemorating the Great Irish Famine. The collection is contained in the Lender Family Special Collection room located in the Arnold Bernhard library.
and North Haven
areas, just north of New Haven, Connecticut
.
The oldest of these campuses is the Mount Carmel campus, at the foot of the Sleeping Giant
State Park. The Arnold Bernhard Library, Carl Hansen Student Center, university administration, and many of the student residences may be found on this campus.
York Hill, located on a hill about a half-mile from the Mount Carmel campus, began with the development of the TD Bank Sports Center. In 2010 this was joined by a new student center as well as expanded parking and residence facilities as part of a $300 million expansion of the 250 acres (1 km²) campus. York Hill is a "green" campus, making use of renewable energy and environmentally-friendly resources, including one of the first major wind farms integrated into a university campus.
In 2007, Quinnipiac acquired a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) campus in North Haven, Connecticut
from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and has been gradually converting it for use by graduate programs at the university.
For the undergraduate class of 2013, Quinnipiac admitted 6,223 (45%) of the 13,828 total applicants who applied. 1,640 (26%) of the admitted enrolled for the Fall 2009 semester. 22% ranked in the top tenth of their high school class; 55% in the top quarter and 90% in the top half. The majority of this class hail from the American Northeast with 26% from New York State, 21% from Connecticut, 20% from New Jersey and 19% from Massachusetts. One percent (1%) of the 2013 class is international. About 78% consider themselves to be Caucasian and 12% are minorities. The remaining 10% did not declare a race or are multi-racial. The female count is 62% and 38% for male. 70% received some form of financial aid.
The average undergraduate incoming freshman had a combined SAT score of 1680/2400.
Class of 2012
For the undergraduate class of 2012, 14,990 applications were reviewed, and 6,715 offers were sent out, which is a 45% admittance rate. 1,480 (22%) students enrolled into the freshman class. 22% were in the top tenth of their high school class, 55% were in the top quarter, and 90% were in the top half. 61% of the class is female, and 39% is male. 78% of the students consider themselves Caucasian.
Class of 2011
For the undergraduate class of 2011, Quinnipiac admitted 5,669 of the 12,049 applicants who applied (47%). 1,350 (24%) of those admitted enrolled. 62% of the class is female; 38% is male. 90% of the Quinnipiac's class of 2011 ranked in the top half of their high school class; 55% ranked in the top quarter; 22% ranked in the top tenth. Most students hail from the American Northeast: New York (29%), Connecticut (21%), New Jersey (19%), and Massachusetts (18%). One percent (1%) of the class of 2011 is international. 70% receive financial aid. 93% were white with 7% being minorities.
Generally, Quinnipiac's Office of Admissions seeks the following characteristics in undergraduate applicants: a 3.4/4.0 GPA and a combined SAT score of approximately 1150/1600.
The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post
, Fox News, USA Today
, The New York Times
, CNN
, and Reuters
.
The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class. It became serious in 1994 when the university hired a CBS News
analyst to assess the data being gained. It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing state
s as well. The institute receives funding from the university, with its phone callers generally being work study students or local residents. The polls have been rated highly by Fivethirtyeight.com
for accuracy in predicting primary and general elections. To many, Quinnipiac University is best known for its polls.
Carl Hansen Student Center – Commonly called "The Student Center," it serves as the home to Student Government, WQAQ-FM, The Chronicle and many student organizations. The student bookstore, main dining hall, U.S. Post Office, and a branch of TD Bank are located here as well.
Arnold Bernhard Library – The library is named for Arnold Bernhard, the founder and former chief executive officer of Value Line, Inc. Bernhard's son made the library renovation project possible by donating $1 million for the library project and an additional $3 million for the University's endowment in 1997. The donation was the largest in University history. The signature clock tower was replaced during the renovation which changed the icon of the school, which was a futuristic looking rocket ship spire, to a more conservative, modern tower. The Computer Help Desk has recently been relocated to the library.
Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center – The Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center is a media production facility equipped with up-to-date technology for hands-on training in all aspects of radio, television, journalism and multimedia production. The HDTV studio provides students with a professional environment for creating quality television programming.
Clarice L. Buckman Center and Theater
Echlin Health Sciences Center
Lender School of Business Center - Fully accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the longest standing, accrediting agency for business programs in the world. The School of Business was also included in the 2011 edition of Princeton Review's "Best 300 Business Schools" and in Bloomberg Businessweek's "Top 100 Undergraduate Business Schools" for 2011. Quinnipiac has the added distinction of being ranked first among northern universities with master's degree programs as having made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, campus or facilities. The ranking appeared in U.S. News & World Report's annual America's Best Colleges issue.
Tator Hall - Part of the Student Center and has multiple classrooms and labs. The Learning Center, a student tutoring program to help fellow peers in a variety of subjects is located here.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats, previously the Quinnipiac Braves, comprise the school's athletic teams. They play in NCAA Division I in the Northeast Conference
, except for the men's and women's ice hockey teams, which are part of ECAC Hockey.
There are seven men's varsity sports and 14 women's varsity sports. There is no football team. The team with the largest following on campus and in the area is the men's ice hockey team under established coach Rand Pecknold, which has been nationally ranked at times; during the 2009–2010 season they entered the top ten of the national polls for the first time. The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey
program had their most successful season in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season
. Quinnipiac University added a women's golf and women's rugby team in the 2010-11 academic year.
In the late 2000s the men's basketball team gained a greater following than before under new head coach Tom Moore
, a disciple of UConn Huskies men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun
. Both men's and women's ice hockey and basketball teams play at the $52 million, 2007-opened TD Bank Sports Center. The women's lacrosse team has also been quite strong. The athletics program has been under pressures common to other universities, and at the close of the 2008–2009 academic year, men's golf, men's outdoor track and women's volleyball were dropped as a cost-cutting measure, although the last of these was restored (as a result of a Title IX suit).
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
by failing to provide equal treatment to women's athletic teams. The judge determined that Quinnipiac's decision to eliminate the women's volleyball team, its attempt to treat cheerleading as a competitive sport, and its manipulation of its reporting with regard to the numbers of male and female athletes amounted to unlawful discrimination against female students.
and students' speech
. The conflict has drawn national attention.
The problems began in the Fall 2007 semester, when junior Jason Braff, then editor of the Quinnipiac Chronicle, the official newspaper of the school, openly criticized a university policy that forbade the Chronicle from publishing news online before the content was published in the weekly print edition
. Braff wrote an editorial
about the policy and also gave an interview to the Republican-American criticizing it.
Manuel Carreiro, Quinnipiac's vice president and dean of students, then sent a letter to Braff in November, telling him that his public disagreement with school policies "will seriously place your position and organization at risk with the university." Braff received an $8,000 annual stipend for his position, and the university said that its employees have more of a responsibility than other students to uphold policies. But Lynn Bushnell, QU's vice president for public affairs, denied threatening to fire Braff for disagreeing with school policies.
Braff and the Chronicle staff were also openly critical of a public relations policy requiring all news media inquiries and questions (including those from the Chronicle) for administrators to be sent, via e-mail, to the university's public relations department.
Quinnipiac officials agreed to discuss the policies with students, and eventually decided that making the Chronicle independent from the university would be the best idea. The school set forth a plan of action, which included the university appointing editors for the 2008-2009 academic year. Angry with this plan, Braff and other staff agreed to leave the Chronicle at the end of the spring 2008 semester, and all applicants for the editor positions withdrew their applications.
Former Chronicle staffers came back in Fall 2008 with Quad News, an independent newspaper with only a website
and no print edition. Plans are to incorporate Quad News as its own business venture run on advertising
revenue.
Quad News immediately faced opposition from the university. Staffers learned in September that university officials had instructed all varsity coaches, staff and athletes not to speak to Quad News reporters.
Shortly after, officials threatened to shut down the university's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
(SPJ), claiming that they violated school policy by using their meetings as a cover for Quad News meetings. The Quad News staff had used two SPJ meetings to meet, after the university took away Quad News meeting reservation, citing the fact that the organization was not a university-recognized club. Quad News promptly stopped their meetings with SPJ.
The move prompted a public letter from national SPJ leaders, expressing concern over the university's actions.
Both staffs recognize the other publication as legitimate and have wished each other luck in their friendly competition.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
, nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
, coeducation
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Hamden
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the foot of Sleeping Giant State Park
Sleeping Giant (Connecticut)
Sleeping Giant of south-central Connecticut, with a high point of , is a rugged traprock mountain located north of New Haven. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the...
. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communications; School of Health Sciences; School of Law
Quinnipiac University School of Law
Quinnipiac University School of Law is the law school of the Quinnipiac University. The School is the youngest law school in the U.S. state of Connecticut, having received full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 1995. It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. It is...
; School of Nursing and School of Education. U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
's 2009 America's Best Colleges issue has ranked Quinnipiac University first among northern universities with master's degree programs as having made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, campus or facilities. Quinnipiac is home to a well-known Polling Institute
Quinnipiac University Poll
The Quinnipiac University Poll is an opinion poll research operated by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut...
.
History
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
graduate, and Tator's wife, Irmagarde Tator, a Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
graduate, also played major roles in the fledgling institution's founding and nurturing;the former became its first president until his death in 1939; the latter, its first bursar.
Quinnipiac was conceived in reaction to Northeastern University's abandonment of its New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
program at the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Originally, Quinnipiac was located in New Haven and called Connecticut College of Commerce. On opening its doors in 1929, it enrolled under 200, and its first graduating class featured only eight students. At the time, it awarded only associate's degrees. In 1935, the college changed its name to Junior College of Commerce.
From 1943-1945, the college closed; nearly its entire student body was drafted into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Upon re-opening, the college's enrollment nearly quadrupled to approximately 800 students.
In 1951, the institution was renamed Quinnipiac College, in honor of the Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac
This article is about the Native American nation. For the university, see Quinnipiac University.The Quinnipiac — rarely spelled Quinnipiack — is the English name for the Eansketambawg a Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the Wampanoki This article is about the Native...
Indian tribe that once inhabited Greater New Haven
Greater New Haven
Greater New Haven is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in the U.S. state of Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on the city of New Haven...
. That same year, Quinnipiac began to confer bachelor's degrees. In 1952, Quinnipiac expanded rapidly, both physically and in terms of curriculum, relocating to a larger campus in New Haven, and also assuming administrative control of Larson College, a private women's college.
In 1966, after having outgrown its campus in New Haven, Quinnipiac moved to its current campus in Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
's Mount Carmel section, at the foot of Sleeping Giant Park
Sleeping Giant (Connecticut)
Sleeping Giant of south-central Connecticut, with a high point of , is a rugged traprock mountain located north of New Haven. It is part of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the...
. Quinnipiac's relatively uniform red-brick architecture results from much of it being built at (or around) that time. During the 1970s, Quinnipiac began to offer master's degrees in a variety of disciplines.
Until the 1990s, Quinnipiac remained primarily a commuter college with only a regional reputation; however, that changed during the next decade. In 1995, the University of Bridgeport
University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport is a private, independent, non-sectarian, coeducational university located on the Long Island Sound in the South End neighborhood of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The University is fully Accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges...
's law school migrated to Quinnipiac. That same year, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
accredited Quinnipiac to award the Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree. The Quinnipiac School of Law Center was dedicated later that year as well. Also, during the mid-1990s, Quinnipiac's communication and business programs, respectively, built state-of-the-art facilities and attracted nationally-known professors. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute was noted for excellence by several prominent journalistic outlets, and often cited during the 1998 and 2000 election campaigns.
Currently, Quinnipiac offers 52 undergraduate majors, 20 graduate programs, and a JD
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
program. Its new medical school plans to admit students starting in 2013. Quinnipiac's Polling Institute often garners the university national media attention.
The university operates several media outlets, including a professionally-run, commercial radio station WQUN
WQUN
WQUN is a radio station licensed to serve Hamden, Connecticut. The station is owned by Quinnipiac University. It airs an Adult Standards music format....
, founded by journalist and Quinnipiac professor Lou Adler. The university also operates a student-run FM radio station WQAQ
WQAQ
WQAQ is a student run radio station broadcasting an Alternative format. Licensed to Hamden, Connecticut, USA, the station serves the Connecticut college area. The station is currently owned by Quinnipiac University....
, which concurrently streams on the Internet. A student-run television station, Q30
Q30
Q30 is the official Student television station of Quinnipiac University, located in Hamden, Connecticut. The station broadcasts closed circuit on Channel 30 to both the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses during the Fall and Spring semesters...
, can be viewed only on campus. Also, a student-produced newspaper, The Chronicle, established in 1929, publishes 2,500 copies every Wednesday.
Quinnipiac is home to one of the world's largest collections of art commemorating the Great Irish Famine. The collection is contained in the Lender Family Special Collection room located in the Arnold Bernhard library.
Campuses
Quinnipiac University consists of three campuses, all within the HamdenHamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
and North Haven
North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut.North Haven is less than ten miles from downtown New Haven and Yale University. It is near Sleeping Giant State Park and home the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing,...
areas, just north of New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
The oldest of these campuses is the Mount Carmel campus, at the foot of the Sleeping Giant
Sleeping Giant
Sleeping Giant may refer to:In geology:* Sleeping Giant , a traprock mountain ridge in Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.* Sleeping Giant , a mountain ridge on the island of Kauai near Kapaa, Hawaii, U.S....
State Park. The Arnold Bernhard Library, Carl Hansen Student Center, university administration, and many of the student residences may be found on this campus.
York Hill, located on a hill about a half-mile from the Mount Carmel campus, began with the development of the TD Bank Sports Center. In 2010 this was joined by a new student center as well as expanded parking and residence facilities as part of a $300 million expansion of the 250 acres (1 km²) campus. York Hill is a "green" campus, making use of renewable energy and environmentally-friendly resources, including one of the first major wind farms integrated into a university campus.
In 2007, Quinnipiac acquired a 100 acre (0.404686 km²) campus in North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven, Connecticut
North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut on the outskirts of New Haven, Connecticut.North Haven is less than ten miles from downtown New Haven and Yale University. It is near Sleeping Giant State Park and home the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences, the School of Nursing,...
from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and has been gradually converting it for use by graduate programs at the university.
Admissions
Class of 2013For the undergraduate class of 2013, Quinnipiac admitted 6,223 (45%) of the 13,828 total applicants who applied. 1,640 (26%) of the admitted enrolled for the Fall 2009 semester. 22% ranked in the top tenth of their high school class; 55% in the top quarter and 90% in the top half. The majority of this class hail from the American Northeast with 26% from New York State, 21% from Connecticut, 20% from New Jersey and 19% from Massachusetts. One percent (1%) of the 2013 class is international. About 78% consider themselves to be Caucasian and 12% are minorities. The remaining 10% did not declare a race or are multi-racial. The female count is 62% and 38% for male. 70% received some form of financial aid.
The average undergraduate incoming freshman had a combined SAT score of 1680/2400.
Class of 2012
For the undergraduate class of 2012, 14,990 applications were reviewed, and 6,715 offers were sent out, which is a 45% admittance rate. 1,480 (22%) students enrolled into the freshman class. 22% were in the top tenth of their high school class, 55% were in the top quarter, and 90% were in the top half. 61% of the class is female, and 39% is male. 78% of the students consider themselves Caucasian.
Class of 2011
For the undergraduate class of 2011, Quinnipiac admitted 5,669 of the 12,049 applicants who applied (47%). 1,350 (24%) of those admitted enrolled. 62% of the class is female; 38% is male. 90% of the Quinnipiac's class of 2011 ranked in the top half of their high school class; 55% ranked in the top quarter; 22% ranked in the top tenth. Most students hail from the American Northeast: New York (29%), Connecticut (21%), New Jersey (19%), and Massachusetts (18%). One percent (1%) of the class of 2011 is international. 70% receive financial aid. 93% were white with 7% being minorities.
Generally, Quinnipiac's Office of Admissions seeks the following characteristics in undergraduate applicants: a 3.4/4.0 GPA and a combined SAT score of approximately 1150/1600.
Quinnipiac Polling Institute
Quinnipiac's Polling Institute receives national recognition for its independent surveys of residents throughout the United States. It conducts public opinion polls on politics and public policy as a public service as well as for academic research.The poll has been cited by major news outlets throughout North America and Europe, including The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Fox News, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
.
The polling operation began informally in 1988 in conjunction with a marketing class. It became serious in 1994 when the university hired a CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
analyst to assess the data being gained. It subsequently focused on the Northeastern states, gradually expanding during presidential elections to cover swing state
Swing state
In United States presidential politics, a swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state's electoral college votes...
s as well. The institute receives funding from the university, with its phone callers generally being work study students or local residents. The polls have been rated highly by Fivethirtyeight.com
FiveThirtyEight.com
FiveThirtyEight is a polling aggregation website with a blog created by Nate Silver. Sometimes colloquially referred to as 538 dot com or just 538, the website takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college...
for accuracy in predicting primary and general elections. To many, Quinnipiac University is best known for its polls.
Fraternities
- Tau Kappa EpsilonTau Kappa EpsilonTau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent...
- Sigma Phi EpsilonSigma Phi EpsilonSigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...
- Delta Tau DeltaDelta Tau DeltaDelta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
- Pi Kappa PhiPi Kappa PhiPi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
Sororities
- Alpha Chi OmegaAlpha Chi OmegaAlpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...
- Alpha Delta PiAlpha Delta PiAlpha Delta Pi is a fraternity founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The Executive office for this sorority is located on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. Alpha Delta Pi is one of the two "Macon Magnolias," a term used to celebrate the bonds it shares with Phi Mu...
- Kappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha ThetaKappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
- Phi Sigma SigmaPhi Sigma SigmaPhi Sigma Sigma , colloquially known as "Phi Sig," was the first collegiate nonsectarian fraternity, welcoming women of all faiths and backgrounds...
- Sigma Gamma RhoSigma Gamma RhoSigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...
- Pi Beta PhiPi Beta PhiPi Beta Phi is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Its headquarters are located in Town and Country, Missouri, and there are 134 active chapters and over 330 alumnae organizations across the United States and...
Campus buildings and landmarks
Alumni Hall - Located in the Carl Hansen Student Center, this multipurpose room has hosted bands, comedians, debates and an Alumni Social during Winter Homecoming.Carl Hansen Student Center – Commonly called "The Student Center," it serves as the home to Student Government, WQAQ-FM, The Chronicle and many student organizations. The student bookstore, main dining hall, U.S. Post Office, and a branch of TD Bank are located here as well.
Arnold Bernhard Library – The library is named for Arnold Bernhard, the founder and former chief executive officer of Value Line, Inc. Bernhard's son made the library renovation project possible by donating $1 million for the library project and an additional $3 million for the University's endowment in 1997. The donation was the largest in University history. The signature clock tower was replaced during the renovation which changed the icon of the school, which was a futuristic looking rocket ship spire, to a more conservative, modern tower. The Computer Help Desk has recently been relocated to the library.
Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center – The Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center is a media production facility equipped with up-to-date technology for hands-on training in all aspects of radio, television, journalism and multimedia production. The HDTV studio provides students with a professional environment for creating quality television programming.
Clarice L. Buckman Center and Theater
Echlin Health Sciences Center
Lender School of Business Center - Fully accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the longest standing, accrediting agency for business programs in the world. The School of Business was also included in the 2011 edition of Princeton Review's "Best 300 Business Schools" and in Bloomberg Businessweek's "Top 100 Undergraduate Business Schools" for 2011. Quinnipiac has the added distinction of being ranked first among northern universities with master's degree programs as having made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, campus or facilities. The ranking appeared in U.S. News & World Report's annual America's Best Colleges issue.
Tator Hall - Part of the Student Center and has multiple classrooms and labs. The Learning Center, a student tutoring program to help fellow peers in a variety of subjects is located here.
Athletics
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...
, except for the men's and women's ice hockey teams, which are part of ECAC Hockey.
There are seven men's varsity sports and 14 women's varsity sports. There is no football team. The team with the largest following on campus and in the area is the men's ice hockey team under established coach Rand Pecknold, which has been nationally ranked at times; during the 2009–2010 season they entered the top ten of the national polls for the first time. The Quinnipiac women's ice hockey
Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey
The Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program represents Quinnipiac University. The Bobcats compete in ECAC Hockey.-Year by year:In their inaugural season, the Quinnipiac Braves were in the ECAC Eastern Conference. After their inaugural season, the team changed its name to Bobcats. From 2002 to...
program had their most successful season in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season
2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season
The 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began on October 2, 2009, ending with the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 21, 2010 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. It marked the third time that Minneapolis had hosted the Frozen Four...
. Quinnipiac University added a women's golf and women's rugby team in the 2010-11 academic year.
In the late 2000s the men's basketball team gained a greater following than before under new head coach Tom Moore
Tom Moore (basketball coach)
Tom Moore is the head men's basketball coach at Quinnipiac University. He took over the position vacated by Joe DeSantis in 2007 after 13 years as a member of the coaching staff at the University of Connecticut and five seasons of previous head coaching experience at Worcester State College...
, a disciple of UConn Huskies men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun
Jim Calhoun
James A. Calhoun is the head coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. His teams have won three national championships , played in four Final Fours , won the 1988 NIT championship, and have won seven Big East tournament championships...
. Both men's and women's ice hockey and basketball teams play at the $52 million, 2007-opened TD Bank Sports Center. The women's lacrosse team has also been quite strong. The athletics program has been under pressures common to other universities, and at the close of the 2008–2009 academic year, men's golf, men's outdoor track and women's volleyball were dropped as a cost-cutting measure, although the last of these was restored (as a result of a Title IX suit).
Title IX discrimination case
On July 21, 2010, a federal judge ruled that Quinnipiac violated Title IXTitle IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
by failing to provide equal treatment to women's athletic teams. The judge determined that Quinnipiac's decision to eliminate the women's volleyball team, its attempt to treat cheerleading as a competitive sport, and its manipulation of its reporting with regard to the numbers of male and female athletes amounted to unlawful discrimination against female students.
Student journalism controversy
Quinnipiac has been at the center of controversy over the university's control over student publicationsStudent newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
and students' speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. The conflict has drawn national attention.
The problems began in the Fall 2007 semester, when junior Jason Braff, then editor of the Quinnipiac Chronicle, the official newspaper of the school, openly criticized a university policy that forbade the Chronicle from publishing news online before the content was published in the weekly print edition
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. Braff wrote an editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
about the policy and also gave an interview to the Republican-American criticizing it.
Manuel Carreiro, Quinnipiac's vice president and dean of students, then sent a letter to Braff in November, telling him that his public disagreement with school policies "will seriously place your position and organization at risk with the university." Braff received an $8,000 annual stipend for his position, and the university said that its employees have more of a responsibility than other students to uphold policies. But Lynn Bushnell, QU's vice president for public affairs, denied threatening to fire Braff for disagreeing with school policies.
Braff and the Chronicle staff were also openly critical of a public relations policy requiring all news media inquiries and questions (including those from the Chronicle) for administrators to be sent, via e-mail, to the university's public relations department.
Quinnipiac officials agreed to discuss the policies with students, and eventually decided that making the Chronicle independent from the university would be the best idea. The school set forth a plan of action, which included the university appointing editors for the 2008-2009 academic year. Angry with this plan, Braff and other staff agreed to leave the Chronicle at the end of the spring 2008 semester, and all applicants for the editor positions withdrew their applications.
Former Chronicle staffers came back in Fall 2008 with Quad News, an independent newspaper with only a website
Online newspaper
An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical....
and no print edition. Plans are to incorporate Quad News as its own business venture run on advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
revenue.
Quad News immediately faced opposition from the university. Staffers learned in September that university officials had instructed all varsity coaches, staff and athletes not to speak to Quad News reporters.
Shortly after, officials threatened to shut down the university's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
(SPJ), claiming that they violated school policy by using their meetings as a cover for Quad News meetings. The Quad News staff had used two SPJ meetings to meet, after the university took away Quad News meeting reservation, citing the fact that the organization was not a university-recognized club. Quad News promptly stopped their meetings with SPJ.
The move prompted a public letter from national SPJ leaders, expressing concern over the university's actions.
Both staffs recognize the other publication as legitimate and have wished each other luck in their friendly competition.
Notable alumni
- William C. WeldonWilliam C. WeldonWilliam C. Weldon is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson, the sixth Chairman in Johnson & Johnson's history of more than one hundred years....
– CEO of Johnson & JohnsonJohnson & JohnsonJohnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500.... - Turk WendellTurk WendellSteven John "Turk" Wendell is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher from to ....
– former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player
Accolades
- Quinnipiac featured in The Princeton Review’s "Best 294 Business Schools: 2012 Edition"
- Princeton Review ranks Quinnipiac among "The Best 376 Colleges" in the 2012 edition of its annual college guide
- Bloomberg Businessweek ranks Quinnipiac in the top 100 list of the "Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2011"
- Featured in 2009 edition of "Best 296 Business Schools" by Princeton Review.
- U.S. News & World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges issue has ranked Quinnipiac University first among northern universities with master's degree programs as having made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, campus or facilities.
- U.S. News & World Report's 2009 America's Best Colleges issue has, for the thirteenth consecutive year, named Quinnipiac as one of the best master's universities in the region.
- Quinnipiac is featured in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review guide "Best 368 Colleges."
- 2008 – U.S. News & World Report has ranked Quinnipiac 12th in the northern universities master’s region.
- Featured in 2008 edition of "Best 290 Business Schools" by Princeton Review.
- Quinnipiac's School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.
- PC Magazine and the Princeton Review to rate Quinnipiac as number nine in 2007's Top 20 Wired Colleges.
- The School of Law was ranked 108 in the most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings.
- President John Lahey receives a salary ($1.8 million in 2008) among the top 10 highest in the US for university professors, and the highest in Connecticut.