Saint Mary's College of California
Encyclopedia
Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college
located in Moraga, California
, United States
, a small suburban community about 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Oakland
and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church
and administered by the De La Salle Christian Brothers
. It is known for its liberal arts
education, including its Great Books
and Seminar
programs, its business
program, which in recent years has become the college's most popular program, as well as the nursing program, partnered with Samuel Merritt University, whose campus is in Oakland, and the school of education. The college has seen a lot of success, particularly with its NCAA Division 1 athletic program. Recently the college has garnered national attention for its men's basketball
program. Academically, Saint Mary's was ranked the 85th best college in the U.S. and ninth-best in California by Forbes
and the 13th best college in the West by U.S. News and World report in 2010.
The college's official literature states that Saint Mary's mission is guided by three traditions: Catholic
, Lasallian and Liberal Arts
.
St. Mary's College began in 1863 as a diocesan college for boys established by Most Rev. Joseph Alemany, OP
, Archbishop of San Francisco, California
. Unhappy with the archdiocese's
operation of the college, Archbishop Alemany applied for assistance from Rome and St. Mary's College was handed over to the De La Salle Christian Brothers in 1868.
In 1889, the college moved east across San Francisco Bay
to Oakland, California
. The location on the corner of 30th and Broadway became affectionately known as "The Brickpile" and Saint Mary's College would call Oakland home until 1928, when it moved further eastward to Moraga after a fire severely damaged the Brickpile. The Oakland site is California Historical Landmark
#676 and is marked by a commemorative plaque
. The former San Francisco site is now the site of the St. Mary's Park neighborhood.
During its first years in Moraga, the college nearly went bankrupt, but eventually managed to gain financial security when it was bought by Archbishop John Joseph Mitty
, for whom a residence hall is now named. During World War II
the college was used by the United States Navy
for the training of pilots. Gerald Ford
was briefly stationed at the school and served as a naval instructor. The navy erected many buildings, including the world's largest indoor pool, but only one, Assumption Hall, remains on the campus as the school had little use for most of the buildings after the war. Saint Mary's continued to be a male-only school until 1970s, when it became coeducational. Since then, more women have come to the college and by 2004, 60% of the students were women.
There are still roughly two dozen Christian Brothers living and working at the school, and the school presidents have always been brothers. However, recognizing the dwindling number of Christian Brothers, in 2003 the college's bylaws were changed to allow the election of a non-Christian Brother to the presidency if no qualified Brother exists or steps forward. The current president is Brother Ronald Gallagher, FSC who took office in 2005.
institution, and the majority of students are in the School of Liberal Arts. However, the most popular major is Business Administration. This is then followed by Communication
, Psychology
, Liberal and Civic Studies (primarily a major for students seeking to become teachers), and English
.
The average class size is 20, with a student faculty ratio of 12:1. 91% of classes are taught by full-time faculty, of which 95% hold the highest degree in their fields. There are over 40 academic programs, with an option to create your own major.
The School of Science has in the past few years grown as a result of a new science building, Brousseau Hall, which has made the college more appealing to students wishing to major in the life sciences.
As a reflection of the school's liberal arts tradition, most students are allowed to take a broad array of courses to fulfill the college's general education requirement. Two courses in humanities, one each in math and science, two in social sciences, two in religious studies, foreign language as needed, and a diversity course are required of almost all students. However, aside from a common lower division religious studies course (introduction to biblical literature), students can take a variety of different courses to fulfill these requirements (for example, a course on U.S. History and a course on Psychology would satisfy the social science requirement). Freshmen and sophomore students who are undecided about their major often take advantage of the wide degree of flexibility offered in the general education requirements.
The school also has graduate programs in fine arts, psychology, kinesiology, education and business. One of the most successful of these programs is the MFA program in writing. The school also once had the Graduate Liberal Studies program, which was discontinued in the early 2000s. Significant graduate business programs include the Executive MBA, the oldest of its kind in Northern California and one of the oldest in the world; the Trans-Global Executive MBA, including immersion experiences in two continents and a Social Service Management project in a developing country; and the Masters of Science in Financial Analysis and Investment Management, taught in downtown San Francisco.
courses. Although modeled after the academic programs at St. John's College
, this program is unique to Saint Mary's College in that only the four courses are required, and that they are integrated into all majors of study (including non-liberal arts majors such as business and science). The four courses must be taken in order, two freshmen year, and the other two during the sophomore, junior or senior years. These classes encompass the most important literature and philosophy and are meant to include discussion of the text rather than lecture. Most notably, all teachers, even those who generally teach subjects far from literature and philosophy, teach seminar classes.
Below are the four seminars and a sampling of some of the texts read:
Greek Thought
Roman, Christian & Early Medieval Thought
Renaissance Thought
Modern Thought
Because of the small number of students, those students who are in the program remain with the same class for their entire four years. While many students enjoy the uniqueness of the program and the intimate class setting, others find that either the isolation of the program from the rest of the campus (aside from a small number of electives that are allowed, Integral majors take classes only with other Integral majors, and only Integral students take Integral classes, which are all taught by a small number of exclusively Integral professors) or the intense focus on the classics are not for them. These students may transfer after their sophomore year to another major, with almost all of their general education requirements fulfilled.
While the Integral program is housed in the School of Liberal Arts and Integral majors receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, integral students graduate separately from the other Liberal Arts majors and are the last students to receive their diplomas during the commencement ceremony. Many students go on to graduate school for pre-med or pre-law studies.
The nickname of sports teams at Saint Mary's is the Gaels
, which had been changed from the "Saints" in the late 1920s. Saint Mary's College was once known for its American football
team led by "Slip" Madigan, which dominated west coast football, indeed beating USC and Cal during the thirties, and with several wins against eastern powerhouses during the 20s,30s and 40s including winning the 1939 Cotton Bowl by crushing favored Texas Tech 21 to 13. Another memorable win during this period was St. Mary's stunning upset over USC in 1924, 14-10. The most notable win came in 1930, when Saint Mary's traveled to New York to play Fordham University. Fordham was a heavy favorite, as the Rams had won 16 straight games going back to 1928. They featured the first version of an offensive line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite," a formidable unit that later would include the likes of Vince Lombardi. Few thought that a tiny west coast school could defeat a team like Fordham. Nevertheless, Saint Mary's recovered from a 12-0 halftime deficit to win, 20-12. The Gaels were known for their flashy style that reflected the personality of their flamboyant coach. Madigan traveled to New York for the Fordham game with 150 fans on a train that was labelled "the world's longest bar." To stir up publicity for the game, he threw a party the night before and invited not only sportswriters, but such celebrities as Babe Ruth and New York mayor Jimmy Walker. In 2004, however, after a long period of decline, the football team was finally disbanded after a dismal 1-11 2003 season. Because of Title IX
they were required to devote more funds to the school's other growing programs. Saint Mary's is currently well known for its basketball
, baseball
and women's volleyball
teams. A wide variety of intramural and noncompetitive sports also are available on the campus.
Almost all of the Division I varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference
. In 2001 the women's basketball and soccer teams competed in their respective NCAA tournaments, with both teams advancing to the second round. The 2001 women's soccer season ended with the Gaels being ranked 12th in the nation, after receiving rankings as high as 5th (Soccer Buzz) and 7th (NSCAA) in the nation earlier in the season. The women's volleyball team has played in the postseason for the past three years, advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2004. In 2010, the men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Women’s tennis, softball and volleyball won the WCC Conference championships and went on to play in NCAA postseason tournaments. Men’s soccer played their first NCAA Tournament after placing second in the West Coast Conference in 2010. Consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country, men’s rugby has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the past six years in a row.
The men's basketball team is becoming recognized nationally as one of the top mid-major programs in the country. The team received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament
in 2005 and 2008, but lost in the first round both years. The Gaels also have spent parts of the past two seasons ranked in both the Associated Press
and ESPN
Top 25 polls. In 2008, the team, at one point, had the longest active winning streak in the nation. In 2010, the Gaels received an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament
, as a result of having won the WCC Conference Tournament. Having beaten Gonzaga in the tournament final, it was the Gaels' second WCC tournament victory since the tournament began in 1987. In the NCAA tournament, the Gaels won their first round game upsetting Richmond, and giving the college its first men's tournament win in 51 years. It took only two days to secure the next tournament win as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by upsetting second seeded Villanova, led by Omar Samhan with 32 points.
Another successful sports program at Saint Mary's is rugby
, which, though not well known in the United States generally, is the oldest athletic club at Saint Mary's. The men's rugby team has enjoyed a rise in the past few years. Revitalized with a new coaching staff and increasing alumni support, the team has finished the season ranked among the top ten teams in the country for three consecutive years, competing with large high-profile schools such as California
, Ohio State, and the military academies. In 2008, the men's rugby team reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby Division One National Championship tournament, losing to Cal Berkeley
41-31 in the semi-finals, and was also ranked at #2 in the nation for Division 1 Collegiate Rugby at the seasons end.
In 2011, the men's soccer team won the West Coast Conference title, beating the University of San Diego, 1-0, giving the Gaels an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and their first-ever WCC title . In the first round Saint Mary's defeated No. 25 CSU Bakersfield
1-0 to send them to the next round. The second round was played against UCI
. The Gaels defeated the No. 7 Anteaters, 2-1, in double overtime. The game-winning goal was headed in by Trevor Newquist in the 103rd minute, sending Saint Mary's into the "Sweet Sixteen" . The third round of the NCAA Tournament saw the Gaels against Brown University
, beating the Bears in overtime 3-2, at Stevenson Field . The win over the Bears sent the Gaels into the "Elite Eight," making it only the second team in school history to make it to the Elite Eight along with the 1959 men's basketball team.
Being a Lasallian school, community service plays a big role on campus. The Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action or CILSA coordinates most service work on campus, and each year students perform many hours of community service. In January 2006, twenty-five students and two professors traveled to New Orleans to help clean up parks and rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
. These trips to New Orleans have continued in subsequent years.
The campus has a chapel in which Mass is held daily and twice on Sundays. The main student Mass is on Sundays at 8 p.m. There are several priests who work on campus, many of whom also teach classes. In late 2006, a Catholic youth group known as Xalt! was started by students. It has weekly meetings in the chapel, with presentations given by professors.
It is not a requirement to be Catholic in order to attend Saint Mary's, and students do not have to take courses in Catholicism (two general Religious Studies classes are required, an introductory course of the Bible and Its Interpretation and an elective of the student's choosing). However, 51% of Saint Mary’s students are Catholic and are involved in community service. Nearly 10 percent of every graduating class goes on to join a major service organization: the Peace Corps, the Lasallian Volunteers, Teach for America or the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
Saint Mary's has an academic support center which helps students who have disabilities and other special needs. There are also offices set up to assist students of color (42% of the student body identifies as an ethnic minority) and first-generation college students (over one-third of the total students).
The college has a weekly newspaper called "The Collegian", a radio station, KSMC 89.5, and a television station, GaelVision (Channel 20). The campus also access to the Saint Mary’s Magazine and the weekly SMC Bulletin.
Student organizations and academic departments sponsor a variety of campus events for the College community and the public. Forums and presentations address topics such as cultural diversity, Middle East politics, religion and science and women in society. There are also classical music concerts, usually held in the chapel, featuring either groups from outside the campus, or student groups such as the Nightengaels choir. In keeping with the College's hallmark Great Books and seminar programs, which foster conversations among students and professors about significant issues facing society, Saint Mary's routinely features thought leaders from around the world to speak at the College. Some of the most notable people who have spoken at Saint Mary's College since August 2006 are human rights activists Dolores Huerta
and Mother Antonia
, local US congressmen Ellen Tauscher
and George Miller, journalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran
and Russ Rymer
and Czech politician/diplomat Jan Kavan
. In September 2010 Saint Mary’s hosted the first U.S. Senatorial debate between incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer
and her then Republican challenger Carly Fiorina
. The one-hour debate was held before a live audience in the College’s LeFevre Theatre and was sponsored by KTVU
Channel 2 News, the San Francisco Chronicle
and KQED
Public Radio.
at the bottom of the hill no matter which way you turn out of campus. However, there are several movie theaters, fast food places and restaurants within a short drive of campus, and the Rheem and Orinda Theatres are only about ten minutes away. Some students also go to nearby larger towns, such as Concord
, Walnut Creek
and Berkeley
and the cities of Oakland
and San Francisco.
All freshmen at Saint Marys live on campus. 62% of the total student population lives on campus. There are six freshmen dorms (Augustine, Justin, Mitty, De La Salle, Aquinas and Assumption Halls). All freshman dorms (with the exception of Aquinas) are set up "community style," in which two or three students usually share a room and the entire floor shares a central bathroom. Floors are usually separated by sex in freshman halls (because of the shared bathrooms). The only exceptions are Aquinas hall which has students live in suites with their own bathroom, and the first floor of Assumption, which is coeducational with girls’ rooms having their own bathrooms. Aquinas is also open to upperclassmen. Currently, freshmen living on campus are guaranteed a spot on campus for their second year. Sophomores live in Becket Hall, More Hall, North and South Claeys Halls, and Ageno A, B, and C Halls. All of these halls are "suite" style living and each suite comes with three or four bedrooms, accommodates six students, and has its own bathroom and shower. Floors on suite buildings are co-ed.
Juniors and seniors enter into a housing lottery to determine if they can live on campus. Many upperclassmen live in "townhouse" buildings: Ageno East and West, Guerreri East and West, Freitas, Thille, Syufy and Sabatte Halls. All townhouses come with two or three bedrooms (accommodating five to six students), a bathroom and shower, kitchen and living room. Upperclassmen also live off-campus in Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek. Upperclassmen resident advisers, as well as a few other upperclassmen, live in the traditionally freshman and sophomore halls. All residence hall rooms are fully furnished and come with two phones with free long distance, free Internet, and free TV cable outlet. Others often choose to live at home if they are within half an hour of campus. In addition to several student resident advisers, each residence hall also has at least one resident director, who is often a professor and lives in the residence hall.
The majority of classes are held in Galileo, Dante and Garaventa halls, which each have three floors. Most of the professors’ offices are also in these halls. A science building, known as Brousseau Hall or by its former name, Gatehouse, was built in 2000. Sichel Hall is a smaller, media-oriented classroom building used by the Communication Department, and Syufy Performing Arts Hall houses large and small practice rooms for arts students. The newest building on campus is Filippi Academic Hall, which houses the School of Education. The library, St. Albert Hall, is located near the freshmen dorms.
The cafeteria is called Oliver Hall, but it is known to the students as "Saga," after a former operator. The Cassin Student Union is a student lounge that also has a workout facility inside. Attached is Café Louis, features a sandwich shop and grill as well as a coffee shop, operated by Sodexho
, the same company that runs the dining hall. Dryden Hall has recently been retrofitted into overflow seating for Oliver Hall. Also in the student union are Delphine Intercultural Center, and the bookstore, which are separate buildings.
Athletics facilities include McKeon Pavilion
(basketball and volleyball), the Saint Mary’s swimming pool, Saint Mary's stadium (soccer and lacrosse), Madigan Gym (Rec sports), Louis Guisto Field
(baseball), Cotrell Field (softball) as well as an additional soccer field, a rugby field and an intramural field. The college also has a tennis court area and frequently hosts the WCC tennis tournaments. The Power Plant, slightly old and antiquated, is where students work out, but the college hopes to replace it within a few years. There is also a new Cardio Workout Center on the second floor of the Madigan Gym and in Cassin Student Union.
Two other important buildings are the Soda Activity Center and the Lefevre Theatre, where various events are held. There is also St. Albert Hall Library and the Hearst Art Gallery. All buildings on campus except Assumption Hall are named after an important person in the Catholic religion or a person important to the school.
There is also a cross at the top of a hill on campus. A large concrete “SMC” is located up top of one of the surrounding hills, and it gets painted frequently to commemorate different events.
: Fall semester, January Term, and Spring Semester. Students are given three weeks off for Christmas
following Fall semester, one week off following Jan-Term (which many students use to visit friends at other colleges, many of whom do not have a week off in January), and one week in the middle of Spring semester for Easter
. Fall semester usually begins the Monday before Labor Day
and runs through the second week of December. Graduation is usually the third or fourth week of May. St. Mary's also does not have a "week of preparation" for finals. The school goes directly from a regular class schedule to its finals.
Classes meet for one hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, beginning in the fall semester of 2006, classes midday on Monday and Friday were changed to an hour and a half, freeing up time during the middle of the day on Wednesday for what the college is calling "community time," during which events (guest speakers, cultural events, concerts, BBQs, special masses, etc.) can be scheduled by various campus groups (student, faculty or staff). No classes are held during community time and all offices are closed so that the entire campus has the opportunity to attend these events if they choose.
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
located in Moraga, California
Moraga, California
Moraga is a suburban incorporated town located in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named in honor of Joaquin Moraga, whose grandfather was José Joaquin Moraga, second in command to Juan Bautista de Anza...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a small suburban community about 10 miles (16.1 km) east of Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and administered by the De La Salle Christian Brothers
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation, founded in France by Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle and now based in Rome...
. It is known for its liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
education, including its Great Books
Great Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
and Seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
programs, its business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
program, which in recent years has become the college's most popular program, as well as the nursing program, partnered with Samuel Merritt University, whose campus is in Oakland, and the school of education. The college has seen a lot of success, particularly with its NCAA Division 1 athletic program. Recently the college has garnered national attention for its men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
program. Academically, Saint Mary's was ranked the 85th best college in the U.S. and ninth-best in California by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and the 13th best college in the West by U.S. News and World report in 2010.
The college's official literature states that Saint Mary's mission is guided by three traditions: Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, Lasallian and Liberal Arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
.
History
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, Archbishop of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Unhappy with the archdiocese's
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It covers the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo...
operation of the college, Archbishop Alemany applied for assistance from Rome and St. Mary's College was handed over to the De La Salle Christian Brothers in 1868.
In 1889, the college moved east across San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. The location on the corner of 30th and Broadway became affectionately known as "The Brickpile" and Saint Mary's College would call Oakland home until 1928, when it moved further eastward to Moraga after a fire severely damaged the Brickpile. The Oakland site is California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
#676 and is marked by a commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
. The former San Francisco site is now the site of the St. Mary's Park neighborhood.
During its first years in Moraga, the college nearly went bankrupt, but eventually managed to gain financial security when it was bought by Archbishop John Joseph Mitty
John Joseph Mitty
John Joseph Mitty was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third Bishop of Salt Lake City and the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco .-Early life and education:...
, for whom a residence hall is now named. During 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...
the college was used by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
for the training of pilots. Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
was briefly stationed at the school and served as a naval instructor. The navy erected many buildings, including the world's largest indoor pool, but only one, Assumption Hall, remains on the campus as the school had little use for most of the buildings after the war. Saint Mary's continued to be a male-only school until 1970s, when it became coeducational. Since then, more women have come to the college and by 2004, 60% of the students were women.
There are still roughly two dozen Christian Brothers living and working at the school, and the school presidents have always been brothers. However, recognizing the dwindling number of Christian Brothers, in 2003 the college's bylaws were changed to allow the election of a non-Christian Brother to the presidency if no qualified Brother exists or steps forward. The current president is Brother Ronald Gallagher, FSC who took office in 2005.
Academics
There are presently four schools of study at Saint Mary's: the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Science, the School of Economics and Business Administration (SEBA), and the School of Education. The school also had the School of Extended Education for adults seeking to further their education and other non-traditional undergraduate students, but the program was discontinued in 2006. Saint Mary's College prides itself on being a Liberal ArtsLiberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
institution, and the majority of students are in the School of Liberal Arts. However, the most popular major is Business Administration. This is then followed by Communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Liberal and Civic Studies (primarily a major for students seeking to become teachers), and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
.
The average class size is 20, with a student faculty ratio of 12:1. 91% of classes are taught by full-time faculty, of which 95% hold the highest degree in their fields. There are over 40 academic programs, with an option to create your own major.
The School of Science has in the past few years grown as a result of a new science building, Brousseau Hall, which has made the college more appealing to students wishing to major in the life sciences.
As a reflection of the school's liberal arts tradition, most students are allowed to take a broad array of courses to fulfill the college's general education requirement. Two courses in humanities, one each in math and science, two in social sciences, two in religious studies, foreign language as needed, and a diversity course are required of almost all students. However, aside from a common lower division religious studies course (introduction to biblical literature), students can take a variety of different courses to fulfill these requirements (for example, a course on U.S. History and a course on Psychology would satisfy the social science requirement). Freshmen and sophomore students who are undecided about their major often take advantage of the wide degree of flexibility offered in the general education requirements.
The school also has graduate programs in fine arts, psychology, kinesiology, education and business. One of the most successful of these programs is the MFA program in writing. The school also once had the Graduate Liberal Studies program, which was discontinued in the early 2000s. Significant graduate business programs include the Executive MBA, the oldest of its kind in Northern California and one of the oldest in the world; the Trans-Global Executive MBA, including immersion experiences in two continents and a Social Service Management project in a developing country; and the Masters of Science in Financial Analysis and Investment Management, taught in downtown San Francisco.
Collegiate seminar
In addition to these general education courses, students must take four Collegiate Seminar or Great BooksGreat Books
Great Books refers primarily to a group of books that tradition, and various institutions and authorities, have regarded as constituting or best expressing the foundations of Western culture ; derivatively the term also refers to a curriculum or method of education based around a list of such books...
courses. Although modeled after the academic programs at St. John's College
St. John's College, U.S.
St. John's College is a liberal arts college with two U.S. campuses: one in Annapolis, Maryland and one in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founded in 1696 as a preparatory school, King William's School, the school received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher...
, this program is unique to Saint Mary's College in that only the four courses are required, and that they are integrated into all majors of study (including non-liberal arts majors such as business and science). The four courses must be taken in order, two freshmen year, and the other two during the sophomore, junior or senior years. These classes encompass the most important literature and philosophy and are meant to include discussion of the text rather than lecture. Most notably, all teachers, even those who generally teach subjects far from literature and philosophy, teach seminar classes.
Below are the four seminars and a sampling of some of the texts read:
Greek Thought
- The Odyssey
- Lysistrata by Aristophanes
- Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
- Several dialogues by Plato including Plato's Republic, Meno and The Apology.
- Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle
- Poetry by Sappho
- Propositions by Euclid
- Euripides V
- Sophocles I
- Aeschylus
Roman, Christian & Early Medieval Thought
- The Aeneid of VirgilVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
- The Nature of Things by LucretiusLucretiusTitus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
- Dante's InfernoInferno (Dante)Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through what is largely the medieval concept of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as...
- The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
by Geoffrey Chaucer - ConfessionsConfessions (St. Augustine)Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...
by St. AugustineAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province... - Say I Am You by Rumi
- Epictetus
- Lucretius
Renaissance Thought
- The PrinceThe PrinceThe Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
by Machiavelli - Don Quixote
- On Christian Liberty by Martin LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
- Emma by Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
- The Wealth of NationsThe Wealth of NationsAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
by Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations... - The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - Second Treatise of Government by John Locke
- Discourse on InequalityDiscourse on InequalityDiscourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men , also commonly known as the "Second Discourse", is a work by philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau...
by Rousseau - Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes
- CandideCandideCandide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
by VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state... - Answer/La Repuesta by Delacruz
Modern Thought
- Wage-Labor and CapitalWage-Labor and CapitalWage Labour and Capital is an essay on economics by Karl Marx, written in 1847 and first published in articles in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung in April 1849. This book has been widely acclaimed as the precursor to Marx’s important treatise Das Kapital...
by Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement... - The Origin of SpeciesThe Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
by Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory... - Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
- The Bluest EyeThe Bluest EyeThe Bluest Eye is a 1970 novel by American author Toni Morrison. It is Morrison's first novel, written while Morrison was teaching at Howard University and was raising her two sons on her own. The story is about a year in the life of a young black girl in Lorain, Ohio, named Pecola...
by Toni MorrisonToni MorrisonToni Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved... - The Uses of Knowledge by John Henry Newman
- PygmalionPygmalion (play)Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts is a play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of...
by George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60... - Nature WalkingWalking (Thoreau)"Walking" is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau, . Between 1851 and 1860 Thoreau read the piece a total of ten times, more than any other of his lectures...
by Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
and Henry David ThoreauHenry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist... - Of Love and Other DemonsOf Love and Other DemonsOf Love and Other Demons is a novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez, first published in 1994....
by Gabriel Garcia MarquezGabriel García MárquezGabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
Integral program
The Integral program is a major at Saint Mary's College that incorporates the Seminar method for all of its classes, modeled almost completely after St. John's College. It is a four year program, with students unable to enter Integral after freshman year. Instead of just taking four classes integrated as part of the general education, Integral majors' entire curriculum, including subjects not traditionally related to the "classics," is done in the Seminar style. For example, math is taught through reading and discussing Euclid and Galileo, rather than actually completing numerical problem sets. In addition, the Seminar portion of the program, while twice as long (eight semesters vs. four), moves much more quickly and covers more material than the traditional Seminar program. The program does not have any tests, and students average 100-200 pages of reading per night.Because of the small number of students, those students who are in the program remain with the same class for their entire four years. While many students enjoy the uniqueness of the program and the intimate class setting, others find that either the isolation of the program from the rest of the campus (aside from a small number of electives that are allowed, Integral majors take classes only with other Integral majors, and only Integral students take Integral classes, which are all taught by a small number of exclusively Integral professors) or the intense focus on the classics are not for them. These students may transfer after their sophomore year to another major, with almost all of their general education requirements fulfilled.
While the Integral program is housed in the School of Liberal Arts and Integral majors receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, integral students graduate separately from the other Liberal Arts majors and are the last students to receive their diplomas during the commencement ceremony. Many students go on to graduate school for pre-med or pre-law studies.
January term
January Term is a unique academic session in which during the month of January students are required to take one class and encouraged to take one outside their major. Jan Term classes are more intensive than a normal fall or spring class. Instead of meeting two or three times a week, they meet four times a week for two and a half hours. Students must take four Jan Term classes to graduate. This differs from many colleges at which January Term or "Intersession" is optional. Each year, a committee meets to determine the year's Jan Term theme, and the process includes a vote of the final three selections by the community. Classes during Jan Term range from Shakespeare to Star Trek, and students have the option to travel abroad for their January class. There are also optional quarter credit classes for Jan Term and during the semesters, such as digital photography or weight training.Athletics
Saint Mary's College Gaels
The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division-I teams and club sports. The nickname was given to the school's football team in 1926 by a writer for the now...
, which had been changed from the "Saints" in the late 1920s. Saint Mary's College was once known for its American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team led by "Slip" Madigan, which dominated west coast football, indeed beating USC and Cal during the thirties, and with several wins against eastern powerhouses during the 20s,30s and 40s including winning the 1939 Cotton Bowl by crushing favored Texas Tech 21 to 13. Another memorable win during this period was St. Mary's stunning upset over USC in 1924, 14-10. The most notable win came in 1930, when Saint Mary's traveled to New York to play Fordham University. Fordham was a heavy favorite, as the Rams had won 16 straight games going back to 1928. They featured the first version of an offensive line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite," a formidable unit that later would include the likes of Vince Lombardi. Few thought that a tiny west coast school could defeat a team like Fordham. Nevertheless, Saint Mary's recovered from a 12-0 halftime deficit to win, 20-12. The Gaels were known for their flashy style that reflected the personality of their flamboyant coach. Madigan traveled to New York for the Fordham game with 150 fans on a train that was labelled "the world's longest bar." To stir up publicity for the game, he threw a party the night before and invited not only sportswriters, but such celebrities as Babe Ruth and New York mayor Jimmy Walker. In 2004, however, after a long period of decline, the football team was finally disbanded after a dismal 1-11 2003 season. Because of Title IX
Title 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...
they were required to devote more funds to the school's other growing programs. Saint Mary's is currently well known for its basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
teams. A wide variety of intramural and noncompetitive sports also are available on the campus.
Almost all of the Division I varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
. In 2001 the women's basketball and soccer teams competed in their respective NCAA tournaments, with both teams advancing to the second round. The 2001 women's soccer season ended with the Gaels being ranked 12th in the nation, after receiving rankings as high as 5th (Soccer Buzz) and 7th (NSCAA) in the nation earlier in the season. The women's volleyball team has played in the postseason for the past three years, advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2004. In 2010, the men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Women’s tennis, softball and volleyball won the WCC Conference championships and went on to play in NCAA postseason tournaments. Men’s soccer played their first NCAA Tournament after placing second in the West Coast Conference in 2010. Consistently ranked in the top 10 in the country, men’s rugby has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the past six years in a row.
The men's basketball team is becoming recognized nationally as one of the top mid-major programs in the country. The team received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in 2005 and 2008, but lost in the first round both years. The Gaels also have spent parts of the past two seasons ranked in both the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Top 25 polls. In 2008, the team, at one point, had the longest active winning streak in the nation. In 2010, the Gaels received an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament
2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:*March 18 / 20*March 25 / 27*March 26 / 28Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four, held on April 3 and 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium, hosted by the Horizon League and Butler University, as per the NCAA's...
, as a result of having won the WCC Conference Tournament. Having beaten Gonzaga in the tournament final, it was the Gaels' second WCC tournament victory since the tournament began in 1987. In the NCAA tournament, the Gaels won their first round game upsetting Richmond, and giving the college its first men's tournament win in 51 years. It took only two days to secure the next tournament win as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by upsetting second seeded Villanova, led by Omar Samhan with 32 points.
Another successful sports program at Saint Mary's is rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, which, though not well known in the United States generally, is the oldest athletic club at Saint Mary's. The men's rugby team has enjoyed a rise in the past few years. Revitalized with a new coaching staff and increasing alumni support, the team has finished the season ranked among the top ten teams in the country for three consecutive years, competing with large high-profile schools such as California
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
, Ohio State, and the military academies. In 2008, the men's rugby team reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby Division One National Championship tournament, losing to Cal Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
41-31 in the semi-finals, and was also ranked at #2 in the nation for Division 1 Collegiate Rugby at the seasons end.
In 2011, the men's soccer team won the West Coast Conference title, beating the University of San Diego, 1-0, giving the Gaels an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and their first-ever WCC title . In the first round Saint Mary's defeated No. 25 CSU Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield is a public university located in Bakersfield, California, United States which was founded in 1965. CSUB opened in 1970 on a campus, becoming the 19th school in the California State University system...
1-0 to send them to the next round. The second round was played against UCI
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
. The Gaels defeated the No. 7 Anteaters, 2-1, in double overtime. The game-winning goal was headed in by Trevor Newquist in the 103rd minute, sending Saint Mary's into the "Sweet Sixteen" . The third round of the NCAA Tournament saw the Gaels against Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, beating the Bears in overtime 3-2, at Stevenson Field . The win over the Bears sent the Gaels into the "Elite Eight," making it only the second team in school history to make it to the Elite Eight along with the 1959 men's basketball team.
Student life
There are 45 active clubs on campus, a few of which are service clubs, diversity clubs, academic clubs, and special interest clubs. The Associated Students of Saint Mary's College (ASSMC) oversees the club and serves as the student government. Each class elects a president and vice-president, as well as several other student senators. The entire school elects the ASSMC president and the three executive vice-presidents (Administration, Student Affairs and Finance). The Student Involvement and Leadership office assists ASSMC and the clubs in providing programming and events on campus. A full list of student clubs and organizations can be found here.Being a Lasallian school, community service plays a big role on campus. The Catholic Institute for Lasallian Social Action or CILSA coordinates most service work on campus, and each year students perform many hours of community service. In January 2006, twenty-five students and two professors traveled to New Orleans to help clean up parks and rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. These trips to New Orleans have continued in subsequent years.
The campus has a chapel in which Mass is held daily and twice on Sundays. The main student Mass is on Sundays at 8 p.m. There are several priests who work on campus, many of whom also teach classes. In late 2006, a Catholic youth group known as Xalt! was started by students. It has weekly meetings in the chapel, with presentations given by professors.
It is not a requirement to be Catholic in order to attend Saint Mary's, and students do not have to take courses in Catholicism (two general Religious Studies classes are required, an introductory course of the Bible and Its Interpretation and an elective of the student's choosing). However, 51% of Saint Mary’s students are Catholic and are involved in community service. Nearly 10 percent of every graduating class goes on to join a major service organization: the Peace Corps, the Lasallian Volunteers, Teach for America or the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
Saint Mary's has an academic support center which helps students who have disabilities and other special needs. There are also offices set up to assist students of color (42% of the student body identifies as an ethnic minority) and first-generation college students (over one-third of the total students).
The college has a weekly newspaper called "The Collegian", a radio station, KSMC 89.5, and a television station, GaelVision (Channel 20). The campus also access to the Saint Mary’s Magazine and the weekly SMC Bulletin.
Student organizations and academic departments sponsor a variety of campus events for the College community and the public. Forums and presentations address topics such as cultural diversity, Middle East politics, religion and science and women in society. There are also classical music concerts, usually held in the chapel, featuring either groups from outside the campus, or student groups such as the Nightengaels choir. In keeping with the College's hallmark Great Books and seminar programs, which foster conversations among students and professors about significant issues facing society, Saint Mary's routinely features thought leaders from around the world to speak at the College. Some of the most notable people who have spoken at Saint Mary's College since August 2006 are human rights activists Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta
Dolores C. Huerta is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO , and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.-Early life:...
and Mother Antonia
Mother Antonia
Mother Antonia or Madre Antonia as she is known in Spanish, is an American-born Roman Catholic nun and activist, resident in a Mexican maximum security prison....
, local US congressmen Ellen Tauscher
Ellen Tauscher
Ellen O'Kane Tauscher is an American politician and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs...
and George Miller, journalists Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an Indian-American journalist. He is currently the National Editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994...
and Russ Rymer
Russ Rymer
Russ Rymer is an author and freelance journalist with articles in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, and others. His first book, Genie, a Scientific Tragedy, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and awarded with the Whiting Writers' Award...
and Czech politician/diplomat Jan Kavan
Jan Kavan
Jan Kavan is a Czech diplomat and politician.-Biography:Kavan was born in London, the son of a Czech diplomat, Pavel Kavan, and a British teacher, Rosemary Kavan. His father was arrested and tried in a Czech show trial in the 1950s; his mother later wrote a memoir, Love and Freedom.He is a member...
. In September 2010 Saint Mary’s hosted the first U.S. Senatorial debate between incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
and her then Republican challenger Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina is an American business executive and a former Republican candidate for the United States Senate representing California. Fiorina served as chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 and previously was an executive at AT&T and its equipment and technology spinoff,...
. The one-hour debate was held before a live audience in the College’s LeFevre Theatre and was sponsored by KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
Channel 2 News, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and KQED
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
Public Radio.
Off-campus activities
Being a relatively small community of mostly long-time elderly residents or families with young children, Moraga is known for its minimal entertainment that caters to college students, however, a Jan Term class was created to address the needs of college students in Moraga. One student even started an initiative called "Moraga Deals" to offer discounts from local businesses to SMC students. As one sign of its suburban setting, Saint Mary's location is distinguished by having a SafewaySafeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
at the bottom of the hill no matter which way you turn out of campus. However, there are several movie theaters, fast food places and restaurants within a short drive of campus, and the Rheem and Orinda Theatres are only about ten minutes away. Some students also go to nearby larger towns, such as Concord
Concord, California
Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
, Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
and Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and the cities of Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and San Francisco.
Infrastructure
Juniors and seniors enter into a housing lottery to determine if they can live on campus. Many upperclassmen live in "townhouse" buildings: Ageno East and West, Guerreri East and West, Freitas, Thille, Syufy and Sabatte Halls. All townhouses come with two or three bedrooms (accommodating five to six students), a bathroom and shower, kitchen and living room. Upperclassmen also live off-campus in Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek. Upperclassmen resident advisers, as well as a few other upperclassmen, live in the traditionally freshman and sophomore halls. All residence hall rooms are fully furnished and come with two phones with free long distance, free Internet, and free TV cable outlet. Others often choose to live at home if they are within half an hour of campus. In addition to several student resident advisers, each residence hall also has at least one resident director, who is often a professor and lives in the residence hall.
The cafeteria is called Oliver Hall, but it is known to the students as "Saga," after a former operator. The Cassin Student Union is a student lounge that also has a workout facility inside. Attached is Café Louis, features a sandwich shop and grill as well as a coffee shop, operated by Sodexho
Sodexho
Sodexo is a French multinational corporation headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Sodexo is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with 380,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries...
, the same company that runs the dining hall. Dryden Hall has recently been retrofitted into overflow seating for Oliver Hall. Also in the student union are Delphine Intercultural Center, and the bookstore, which are separate buildings.
Athletics facilities include McKeon Pavilion
McKeon Pavilion
McKeon Pavilion is a 3,500 seat multi-purpose arena at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. Home men's and women's basketball and volleyball games are held in the gymnasium, the team nickname being the Gaels. Many athletic camps for youths also use the gym, primarily in the...
(basketball and volleyball), the Saint Mary’s swimming pool, Saint Mary's stadium (soccer and lacrosse), Madigan Gym (Rec sports), Louis Guisto Field
Louis Guisto Field
Louis Guisto Field is a baseball venue in Moraga, California, USA. It is home to the Saint Mary's Gaels college baseball team of the NCAA Division I's West Coast Conference. Named for former Gaels baseball player and coach Louis Guisto, the field has a capacity of 1,000 spectators...
(baseball), Cotrell Field (softball) as well as an additional soccer field, a rugby field and an intramural field. The college also has a tennis court area and frequently hosts the WCC tennis tournaments. The Power Plant, slightly old and antiquated, is where students work out, but the college hopes to replace it within a few years. There is also a new Cardio Workout Center on the second floor of the Madigan Gym and in Cassin Student Union.
Two other important buildings are the Soda Activity Center and the Lefevre Theatre, where various events are held. There is also St. Albert Hall Library and the Hearst Art Gallery. All buildings on campus except Assumption Hall are named after an important person in the Catholic religion or a person important to the school.
There is also a cross at the top of a hill on campus. A large concrete “SMC” is located up top of one of the surrounding hills, and it gets painted frequently to commemorate different events.
Semester schedules
Saint Mary's has a "4-1-4" system, similar to Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
: Fall semester, January Term, and Spring Semester. Students are given three weeks off for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
following Fall semester, one week off following Jan-Term (which many students use to visit friends at other colleges, many of whom do not have a week off in January), and one week in the middle of Spring semester for Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. Fall semester usually begins the Monday before Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
and runs through the second week of December. Graduation is usually the third or fourth week of May. St. Mary's also does not have a "week of preparation" for finals. The school goes directly from a regular class schedule to its finals.
Classes meet for one hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, beginning in the fall semester of 2006, classes midday on Monday and Friday were changed to an hour and a half, freeing up time during the middle of the day on Wednesday for what the college is calling "community time," during which events (guest speakers, cultural events, concerts, BBQs, special masses, etc.) can be scheduled by various campus groups (student, faculty or staff). No classes are held during community time and all offices are closed so that the entire campus has the opportunity to attend these events if they choose.
Notable alumni
Some of Saint Mary's notable alumni are as follows: the two numbers after their name are the last two digits of the year that they graduated or will graduate (in the twentieth century unless otherwise noted).- Mahershalalhashbaz AliMahershalalhashbaz AliMahershalalhashbaz Ali is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Richard Tyler on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400, and "Tizzy" in the 2008 motion picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.Ali was born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore in Oakland,...
, actor, nominated for 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award15th Screen Actors Guild Awards----Best Cast - Motion Picture: Slumdog Millionaire----Best Cast - Drama Series: Mad Men Best Cast - Comedy Series: 30 Rock ...
"Outstanding Performance by a Cast" for The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald... - Joseph AliotoJoseph AliotoJoseph Lawrence Alioto was the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976.-Biography:...
'37, (dec.) former mayor of San Francisco - Brother Alfred BrousseauAlfred BrousseauBrother Alfred Brousseau, FSC was an educator, photographer and mathematician and was known mostly as a founder of the Fibonacci Association and as an educator.-Biography:...
'28 (dec.) mathematician, wrote on the FibonacciFibonacciLeonardo Pisano Bigollo also known as Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo Fibonacci, or, most commonly, simply Fibonacci, was an Italian mathematician, considered by some "the most talented western mathematician of the Middle Ages."Fibonacci is best known to the modern...
numbers. The recently built science building is named after him. - Robert HassRobert HassRobert L. Hass is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He was awarded the 2007 National Book Award and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Time and Materials.-Life:...
'63, Poet Laureate of the United States, 1995–97 - John F. HenningJohn F. HenningJohn Francis "Jack" Henning was a U.S. labor leader, civil servant, and a former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Under Secretary of Labor...
, '38, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand - Ken HofmannKen HofmannKenneth Harry Hofmann is a builder, real estate developer and philanthropist who is best known for being the former owner of both the Seattle Seahawks and the Oakland Athletics....
'45, former owner, Oakland Athletics; developer - Harry HooperHarry HooperHarry Bartholomew Hooper was a Major League Baseball player in the early 20th century. Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hooper was born in Bell Station, California. A graduate in engineering at Saint Mary's College of California, he broke into the majors with the Red Sox in 1909,...
'07, (dec.) National Baseball Hall of Fame - William Hughes 1900, (dec.) priest of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los AngelesRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Los AngelesThe Archdiocese of Los Angeles is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the...
; former Director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian MissionsBureau of Catholic Indian MissionsThe Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions was a Roman Catholic institution created in 1874 by J. Roosevelt Bayley, Archbishop of Baltimore, for the protection and promotion of Catholic mission interests among Native Americans in the United States.-History:... - J. J. JelincicJ. J. JelincicJoseph John Jelincic, Jr., better known as J.J. Jelincic, is a member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System Board and is the past president of the California State Employees Association , a labor group representing 140,000 active and retired state employees...
, CalPERSCalPERSThe California Public Employees' Retirement System or CalPERS is an agency in the California executive branch that "manages pension and health benefits for more than 1.6 million California public employees, retirees, and their families"...
Board Member (elected), former President of the California State Employees AssociationCalifornia State Employees AssociationThe California State Employees Association , was founded in 1932 in Sacramento, California. Its early achievements include creation of the first retirement system for California state workers , creation of a credit union for state employees, winning collective bargaining rights for state and... - John Henry JohnsonJohn Henry JohnsonJohn Henry Johnson was an American football fullback. He played from 1954 to 1965 for the San Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions, and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League...
'53, Pro Football Hall of Fame - Bob LadouceurBob LadouceurBob Ladouceur is an American football coach. He began coaching the De La Salle High Spartans in Concord, California in 1979, when he was twenty-five years old. He took over a team that had never enjoyed a winning season since the school's founding in 1965 and turned it into a perennial winner...
'89, head football coach, De La Salle High (Concord), holder of longest high school winning streak (151 games) - Tony MartinTony Martin (entertainer)Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
'35, entertainer; member, Hollywood Walk of Fame - Tom MescheryTom MescheryThomas Nicholas "Tom" Meschery is a Russian American former professional basketball player. He was a power forward with a 10 year National Basketball Association career from 1961 to 1971. He played for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors and the Seattle SuperSonics...
'61, pro and college basketball great; teacher and poet - George P. Miller '12 (dec.), Member of Congress from California, 1945–1973
- Patty MillsPatrick MillsPatrick "Patty" Sammie Mills is an Indigenous Australian professional basketball player who plays as a point guard for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers....
All American point guard, NBA player playing for the Portland Trail Blazers (entered NBA draft after sophomore year) - Don PerataDon PerataDon Richard Perata is a California Democratic politician, who was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 2004 to 2008. He came in second place in the November 2010 ballot for Mayor of Oakland...
'67, President Pro Tempore and Senator, California State Senate, 1998-2008 (President Pro Tempore 2004-2008) - Quentin ReynoldsQuentin ReynoldsQuentin James Reynolds was a journalist and World War II war correspondent.As associate editor at Collier's Weekly from 1933 to 1945, Reynolds averaged twenty articles a year...
'29 (dec.), former Chairman, CEO, Safeway Stores, Inc. - Greg Reyes '84, former Chairman & CEO, Brocade Communication; ownership group, San Jose Sharks
- Tracee TalaveraTracee TalaveraTracee Talavera is a retired artistic gymnast of Mexican-American descent who competed for the United States at the Olympics and World Championships. She was the 1981 and 1982 U.S...
'90, gymnastics national champion, Olympic medalist, and USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame member - Tom CandiottiTom CandiottiThomas Caesar Candiotti is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was known for his knuckleball. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers...
'80 Major League knuckleball pitcher for five teams - Von HayesVon HayesVon Francis Hayes , was a Major League Baseball player from 1981 to 1992 for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels...
'81 Major League All-Star outfielder and minor league manager - Mark TeahenMark TeahenMark Thomas Teahen is an American-Canadian professional baseball infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball....
'02 Major League Baseball third baseman - Catriona HarrisCatriona HarrisCatriona Harris is the Managing Partner at Uproar PR, a PR and Social Media Agency based in Orlando, FL. She is also a Vice President of Vantage Communications . Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Saint Mary's College of California....
'00 Managing Partner, Uproar PR