Spalding University is a private, co-educational university in Louisville, Kentucky affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
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Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institution west of the Alleghenies. Nazareth Academy was founded in 1814 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and was located in Nelson County near Bardstown, Kentucky. Spalding was named after Mother Catherine Spalding, foundress of the Sisters.
In 1829 the legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky granted the school a charter allowing the school to confer degrees. In 1920, the Sisters opened Nazareth College in Louisville, Kentucky's first, four-year, Catholic college for women. The Louisville and Nazareth campuses merged. In 1969, the school was renamed Spalding College and in 1971 all instructional activity was moved to the Louisville campus. In 1973, Spalding College became co-educational and an independent college in the Catholic tradition open to students of all faiths and backgrounds. In 1984, Spalding College became Spalding University.
Academic programs
Spalding offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and education.
School of Nursing
The School of Nursing offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing. There are four degrees available: BSN with a regular and a second-degree option, a BSN to RN option, a Master in Science option and a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy
The Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy was established in 1995 and offers a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy.
Master of Fine Arts in writing
Spalding University offers a four-semester, brief-residency leading to a Master of Fine Arts degree in Writing. Each semester of the program begins with a ten-day residency. At the conclusion of the residency, students return home to correspond with a faculty mentor for the rest of the semester.
The MFA Program is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.
The Masters of Fine Arts in Writing degree program has focuses in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, and writing for children, and publishes a biannual literary magazine, The Louisville Review.
Master of Science in Business Communication
The MSBC at Spalding University is the first and only Master of Science in Business Communication program in the commonwealth of Kentucky. The program can be completed in one year.
Kentucky College of Art and Design
In 2009, the university opened the Kentucky School of Art with 9 students. After the school grew to over 140 students, the university renamed it the Kentucky College of Art and Design in 2015.
Location and facilities
Located in downtown Louisville, Spalding University's urban campus is located between the main business/government district of the city and Old Louisville.
851 mansion
When Spalding University, originally called Nazareth College, opened in 1920, its sole building was the 1871 structure known as the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin House. This Italianate building was designed and built by architect Henry Whitestone for the family of Joseph T. Tompkins, a wealthy dry-goods merchant and importer. Later, the Buchanans and Rankins lived here. George C. Buchanan was a distiller who aspired to make the mansion one of the greatest in Louisville, and had it redecorated in 1880. Although the facade of this Italianate structure has disappeared, the north and south sides of the original building are visible; on the north are three deeply projecting bay windows, and on the south, a two story loggia. In 1918 the residence was vacant, so the Sisters of Nazareth purchased it for $75,000 as the site of the college they planned to open in Louisville. The fact that this house is one door north of Presentation Academy, also operated by the Sisters, was fortunate.
As successive owners occupied the mansion, they added such treasures as a hand-tooled leather ceiling from Florence for one parlor, ebony mantels, and a large hand-carved hat-rack, which Mr. Buchanan purchased at the New Orleans Exposition. The stained glass of the mansion is one of its outstanding features. When Dr. John Coolidge, one-time Director of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, visited Louisville, he said that Spalding University had the most marvelous display of nineteenth-century stained glass he had ever seen.
Erected in 1942, the Administration Building, which was attached to the front wall of the 1871 building, fills not only the space of the two lots north of the original building but also that of the former terrace in front of the mansion. The old stained glass street number, 851, no longer faces the street, but it still gleams brightly in the passageway between the newer building and the old Whitestone mansion.
In December 1973 the mansion was designated a Kentucky Landmark. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1977.
Egan Leadership Center
The Egan Leadership Center is located at 901 South Fourth Street and is named after Spalding's former President, Sister Eileen Egan. Sister Egan served the university for 25 years until her retirement in 1994. Containing over 33,000 square feet (3,100Â m2) on three floors, the building houses a 125-seat lectorium and the university bookstore on the first level. The second and third floors house student services offices, such as admissions, the office of the registrar, financial aid, advising and student development and campus life.
Teilhard Hall
Home of the Kentucky School of Art, with studio classrooms and individual studios offered to students participating in the program.
849 Building
An extension of the Kentucky School of Art, housing more student studios, a sculpture area, and a gallery.
Morrison Hall
Originally opened in 1961, the residence formerly known as Our Lady of Louisville Hall only housed 116 students. An addition was constructed and opened in 1968 bumping the total occupancy to 350 residents. In 1970 the hall was renamed in honor of Sister Charles Mary Morrison who served as registrar and Dean from 1925 to 1950. The building currently houses undergraduate and graduate students in 165 dormitory-style rooms on the north side of the building and shares the south side with the Kentucky College of Art and Design (KyCAD).
Spalding Suites
The Spalding Suites opened in the fall of 2011 and are designed as apartment-style living for students who choose to live on campus. The Suites were designed for true community living as all residents share a common living room, kitchen and bathroom within their suite.
Residents can choose to live in a private bedroom within an 8-person suite, a double bedroom within an 8-person suite or a double bedroom within a 4-person suite. Bedrooms come equipped with a standard twin size bed, desk and chair, cable box, and wardrobe. All bedrooms have windows and blinds and a private lock.
Spalding University Center
In 1963 Spalding University purchased the former Columbia Auditorium for use in administrative, recreational, athletic, religious, and cultural events, including public lectures by notable public figures. The auditorium seats about 1,000 people in its main floor and balcony.
The building was designed by Louisville architect Thomas J. Nolan in 1925 in a classic style in accordance with Vignola. The external walls are of Bedford limestone with buff brick trim. Interior floors and staircases are marble. The Knights of Columbus commissioned the building to serve as a center for their many activities.
After the economic depression of 1929, the Knights of Columbus could not maintain it, so it was used by other groups. During World War II it was a service club for military personnel. It was also used by the Louisville Orchestra in that group's early days. Perhaps the best-known use of the gymnasium in the building was the housing of Golden Gloves Boxing events during the 1950s. It was there that Cassius Clay (now Muhammad Ali) trained as a teenager.
Athletics
Spalding University offers 11 varsity sports and 14 teams who participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. The Golden Eagles, formerly known as the Pelicans, are a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track and field; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball.
Baseball
The Spalding University Baseball team has been known for their incredible success in recent years. In 2012, the Golden Eagles won the USCAA World Series, claiming their first national championship in program history. The following year was Spalding Universities first year to compete in NCAA Division III competition. In 2013, the Eagles had an impressive record of 33â€"12 and defeated the number one team in the nation, Cortland State. The team followed much of the same success in 2014, finishing with a record of 28â€"15. This past year,Spalding had a record of 25â€"16 and defeated top 25 rival Webster twice. Spalding University's home site is located in Louisville at Derby City Field. The current head coach is Matt Downs.
Notable alumni
- Silas House, novelist
- Elmer Lucille Allen, ceramic artist and chemist
- Tori Murden, explorer and university president
See also
- Bellarmine University
- Religion in Louisville, Kentucky
References
External links
- Official website
- Official athletics website