Creighton University

Creighton University is a private, Jesuit university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergraduate students on a 140-acre (57 ha)[6] campus just outside Omaha's downtown business district.

Creighton University
Latin: Universitas Creightoniana
Former names
Creighton College (1878–1958)
TypePrivate university
Established1878 (1878)
Religious affiliation
Catholic (Jesuit)
Academic affiliations
AJCU
ACCU
NAICU
Space-grant
Endowment$587.02 million (2019)[1]
PresidentDaniel S. Hendrickson[2]
ProvostThomas F. Murray[3]
RectorNicholas Santos[4]
Academic staff
686 Full-time and 333 Part-time[5]
Students8,821[5]
Undergraduates4,472[5]
Postgraduates4.349[5]
Location
Omaha
,
Nebraska
,
United States

41°15′53″N 95°56′46″W
CampusUrban – 132 acres (53.4 ha)
Colors Blue  and  White 
NicknameBluejays
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division I – Big East
MascotBilly Bluejay
Websitecreighton.edu

History

The university was founded as Creighton College on September 2, 1878, through a gift from Mary Lucretia Creighton, who stipulated in her will that a school be established in memory of her husband, prominent Omaha businessman Edward Creighton. Edward's brother, John A. Creighton, is credited with fostering and sustaining the university's early growth and endowment. In 1958, the college split into a prep school and the present-day Creighton University.[7]

Academics
University rankings
National
Forbes[8] 194
THE/WSJ[9] 127
U.S. News & World Report[10] 104
Washington Monthly[11] 299

The schools and colleges at Creighton are:

The College of Arts & Sciences is the largest school, containing about 28% of the university's enrolled students.[12] Creighton's acceptance rate is 72.7%.[13]

In 2018, the university announced a Phoenix Health Sciences Campus, to open in 2021.[14]

Athletics
Main article: Creighton Bluejays
Creighton men's basketball home game, CHI Health Center Omaha

Creighton competes in NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the Big East. Nicknamed the Bluejays, Creighton fields 14 teams in eight sports. Bruce Rasmussen is the Director of Athletics.[15]

Greg McDermott is the men's basketball program's head coach. Famous basketball alums include Paul Silas, Benoit Benjamin, Kyle Korver, and Greg's son Doug McDermott, while famous former Bluejays coaches include Eddie Sutton, Willis Reed, and Dana Altman.

The women's basketball team won the WNIT championship in 2004. It plays all home games on campus at D. J. Sokol Arena.

The men's soccer team maintained 17 straight NCAA tournament appearances between 1992 and 2008. During that time, the Bluejays made three College Cup appearances, including one championship game appearance (2000). It plays all home games on campus at Morrison Stadium.

Creighton's baseball team has one appearance in the NCAA College World Series (1991). Jim Hendry, the former general manager of the Chicago Cubs, was Creighton's head coach for its 1991 CWS appearance. The program's graduates include Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson.

The women's softball team has had two appearances in the Women's College World Series (1982 and 1986) and has appeared in six of the past eight NCAA Tournaments. Tara Oltman (2007–2010), the best pitcher in MVC history, was a three-time league Pitcher of the Year and finished her career with conference records for wins, innings pitched, starts, appearances, strikeouts, and complete games. She remains the only student-athlete in Bluejays history to earn first-team all-conference honors in four consecutive seasons.

Demographics
University mall

As of 2015, Creighton's enrollment was 8,435, of whom 4,163 were undergraduates.[16] From Creighton's Class of 2020, 14% count themselves as first-generation college attendees in their families. 26% are students of color, and 56% of the class is female; 82% of the class have taken part in volunteer service.[17]

Student clubs and organizations

The university has more than 200 student organizations:[18]

St. John's Church on Creighton's campus

Academic honor societies

Student government
  • Creighton Students Union (CSU) is Creighton University's comprehensive student government, consisting of students from each of Creighton University's schools and colleges. CSU has served as the student body's official voice to faculty, staff, and the outside community since 1922. CSU also devotes significant resources to other student organizations, including a large part of its budget dedicated to funding student organizations; its former name was Student Board of Governors.[21]
  • Each school has its own student advising body for academic affairs.
  • Inter Residence Hall Government (IRHG) was formed in 1984 by Steven Conroy and serves as the voice for all students who live on Creighton's campus. IRHG represents all of Creighton's residence halls and sponsors programs and legislative actions.[22]

John P. Schlegel, S.J., Center for Service and Justice
Law school with downtown in background

The John P. Schlegel, S.J., Center for Service and Justice[23][24] (SCSJ) promotes weekly local community service projects, Fall and Spring Break service trips, student leadership development, and education about contemporary justice issues. The center helped develop the Cortina Community, a sophomore intentional-living community named for Jesuit priest Jon de Cortina.[25]

Performing arts
  • Several vocal groups exist. The Department of Fine and Performing Arts, within the College of Arts and Sciences, houses a Chamber Choir (selective), Gospel Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and University Chorus. The men's a cappella ensemble is known as the Creightones.
  • The Creighton Dance Company's eclectic repertoire draws on classical ballet, contemporary and modern dance, jazz and musical theatre dance.
  • The Department of Fine and Performing Arts offers undergraduate degrees in Art History, Studio Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Musical Theatre.
  • Several theatrical productions are held each year in the University's Lied Education Center for the Arts.[26]

Student media
  • The student newspaper The Creightonian, first published in 1924, is now published every Thursday during the school year. Student reporters, editors, photographers, and designers produce the paper, covering campus news, features, sports, entertainment, opinion, and photos. In 2007 and 2008, The Creightonian was named Nebraska's top college newspaper in the Nebraska Press Association contest. Staff members won numerous individual awards. The Creightonian was a finalist for the 2007 and 2010 Pacemaker Award, one of the top awards in college journalism.[27]
  • Creighton's literature and arts publication Shadows has received one of college journalism's top honors: a 2007 Silver Crown award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). Shadows, which is published twice a year, selects literary and visual art by Creighton students, faculty, and staff. The magazine is the oldest student organization on campus.[28]

Clubs

Many organizations allow students to share their common interests.[29] Examples include:

Notable alumni
Main article: List of Creighton University alumni

There are more than 68,470 living alumni of Creighton University in 93 countries. Nearly 30 percent live in Nebraska. The largest number of alumni outside the United States reside in Canada, Japan, and Malaysia.[30]

Alumni include Marcia Anderson, the first African-American woman to attain the rank of major general in the United States Army Reserve; Michael P. Anderson, an astronaut killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster; Donald Keough, once president and chief operating officer of Coca-Cola; Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade and owner of the Chicago Cubs; Mark Walter, founder and chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, and part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Symone Sanders, Democratic strategist and spokesperson for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign; Mike Johanns, former Governor of Nebraska, former United States Senator, and former United States Secretary of Agriculture; Cathy Hughes, first African American woman to head a publicly traded corporation (Urban One) and currently second wealthiest African American woman;[31] J. Clay Smith Jr., former interim head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and former dean of Howard University School of Law; novelists Ron Hansen and Theodore Wheeler; and several professional athletes, including Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson and professional basketball players Kyle Korver, Anthony Tolliver, and Doug McDermott.

See also

References
  1. As of July 1, 2019.
  2. "TC Alumnus Daniel S. Hendrickson Named President of Creighton University". Teachers College, Columbia University. February 9, 2015.
  3. "Provost | Creighton University". Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  4. "Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ". Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. "College Navigator - Creighton University". nces.ed.gov.
  6. Safety_Report.pdf "Public Safety – Campus Security Report Fall 2015". Creighton.edu.
  7. "Creighton Prep: History". creightonprep.creighton.edu. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  8. "America's Top Colleges 2019". Forbes. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  9. "Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings 2021". Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  10. "2021 Best National University Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  11. "2020 National University Rankings". Washington Monthly. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  12. 2015-2016 Creighton University Fact Book. Creighton.edu. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  13. "Creighton University". U.S. News and World Report.
  14. writer, Rick Ruggles World-Herald staff. "Creighton University plans nearly $100 million project in Phoenix". Omaha.com.
  15. "Creighton Announces Conference Change, Jays to Join Big East". Creighton University. 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  16. "Campus Updates". Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  17. "Creighton Class of 2020 a talented, diverse, service-oriented group". Creighton University News Center. Creighton University. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  18. "Creighton University - Student Organizations". Creighton.edu. Creighton. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  19. "Welcome to Phi Beta Kappa at Creighton University! | Phi Beta Kappa | Creighton University". www.creighton.edu. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  20. "Creighton University College of Nursing: Make a Difference Through Activities and Service". Retrieved April 27, 2019. Sigma Theta Tau...’s mission is to advance world health and celebrate nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership and service.
  21. Creighton University :: CSU. Creighton.edu. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  22. Creighton University :: Inter Residence Hall Government :: Inter Residence Hall Government. Creighton.edu. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  23. "Schlegel Center for Service and Justice". www.creighton.edu. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  24. Cole, Kevin (April 19, 2015). "Creighton center named for the Rev. John Schlegel to honor his work on social justice". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  25. "Residential Life and Housing". Creighton.edu. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  26. Fine Arts: Fine and Performing Arts. Creighton.edu. Updated on August 6, 2011.
  27. About Us – The Creightonian: Site. Creightonian.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  28. Creighton News Literary Magazine Shadows Wins Award Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Creighton.edu (March 29, 2007). Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  29. Creighton University :: Student Activities Student Organizations. Creighton.edu. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  30. "Graduation outcomes". Creighton.edu. Archived from the original on January 30, 2011.
  31. columnist, Michael Kelly World-Herald. "Kelly: Omaha native Cathy Hughes, the 2nd-richest black woman in U.S., is 'thrilled' to come home". Omaha.com.
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