University of San Francisco

History

Founded by the Jesuits in 1855 as St. Ignatius Academy, USF started as a one-room schoolhouse along Market Street in what later became downtown San Francisco. Under its founding president, Anthony Marachi, S.J., St. Ignatius Academy received its charter to issue college degrees on April 30, 1859, from the State of California, and signed by governor John B. Weller. In that year the school changed its name to St. Ignatius College. The original curriculum included Greek, Spanish, Latin, English, French, Italian, algebra, arithmetic, history, geography, elocution, and bookkeeping. Father Maraschi was the college's first president, a professor, the college's treasurer, and the first pastor of St. Ignatius Church.

A new building was constructed in 1862 to replace the first frame building. In June 1863, the university awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1880, the college moved from Market Street to a new site on the corner of Hayes Street and Van Ness Avenue (currently occupied by the Davies Symphony Hall). The third St. Ignatius College received moderate damage in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but was completely destroyed in the ensuing fire. The campus moved west, to the corner of Hayes and Shrader Streets, close to Golden Gate Park, where it occupied a hastily constructed structure known as The Shirt Factory (for its resemblance to similar manufacturing buildings of the era) for the next 21 years. The college moved to its present site on Fulton Street in 1927. The college was built on the site of a former Masonic Cemetery. To celebrate its diamond jubilee in 1930, St. Ignatius College changed its name to the University of San Francisco. The change from college to university was sought by many alumni groups and by long-time San Francisco Mayor James Rolph Jr.. A male-only school for most of its history, USF became fully coeducational in 1964, though females started attending the evening programs in business and law as early as 1927. In 1969, the high school division, already wholly separate from the university, moved to the western part of San Francisco and became St. Ignatius College Preparatory. In 1978, the university acquired Lone Mountain College. October 15, 2005, marked the 150th anniversary of the university's founding. As of the fall of 2016, USF enrolled 11,8018 undergraduate and graduate students in all of its programs housed in four schools (Law, Management, Education, Nursing and Health Professions) and one college (Arts and Sciences).

Campus buildings

Organization and administration

The University of San Francisco is chartered as a non-profit organization and is governed by a privately appointed board of trustees, along with the university president, the university chancellor, the university provost and vice-presidents, and the deans. The board currently has 43 voting members who serve three, three-year terms and is chaired by Stephen A. Hamill. The board of trustees elects a president to serve as the general manager and chief executive of the university. The current president (since August 1, 2014) is Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. The president, according to USF Bylaws, is specifically responsible for articulating and advancing the Jesuit Catholic character of the university. USF's faculty and librarians are unionized. The University of San Francisco Faculty Association, a local of the California Federation of Teachers, represents its members in all matters concerning wages, benefits, and enforcing the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The USFFA is consulted by the USF administration on matters affecting the working conditions of the faculty and librarians. The Union was founded in 1975. The founding president was economics professor Michael Lehmann (1975-1988), the second was English professor Alan Heineman (1988-2005) and the current President is history Professor Elliot Neaman (2005–present). In the fall of 2016, USF enrolled 11,018 undergraduate, graduate, and law students in its four schools and one college.

Rankings

Global education

USF’s Center for Global Education advises students on international programs sponsored by USF or external organizations and schools; and coordinates the application process, financial aid, transfer of credit, and other critical procedures. The Center for Global Education sponsors a wide range of programs during the regular semesters, as well as short-term programs during the winter sessions and the summer. USF is committed to making it possible for students to experience the world outside the United States. In order to prevent cost from making it possible for students to travel abroad, USF students can take their financial aid awards with them to study abroad. Furthermore, a number of programs that take place in developing societies and that exemplify the Jesuit tradition receive a 50% discount in tuition, through the Pedro Claver scholarships. USF has more than 40 institutional partnerships with other universities throughout the world, including in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Chile, China, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and Uruguay. These agreement include students and faculty exchanges, research activities, and joint degree programs. Overall, USF offers 133 semester-long international programs to its students. During the 2012-2013 academic year, 646 USF students earned academic credit in USF-sponsored study abroad, exchange, intern, or social justice programs, or studied abroad through the Center for Global Education. Another 121 students engaged in short-term non-academic credit, social justice immersion programs, during the 2012-13 academic year, for a total of 767 students. Overall, the student population studying abroad during the 2012-2013 academic year included 337 students of color (African American, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American or Pacific Islander), representing 43.9 percent of the study abroad student population. Of the 767 students who studied abroad, 450 (85.7%) were on financial aid and of these, 73 (16.2%) received Pell Grants. Since the summer of 2012, five USF Pell Grant recipients have also received the prestigious Gillman Award established for Pell Grant recipients who study abroad and conduct a project of significance to change the world. During the past decade, the university’s study abroad students have consistently been surveyed regarding their overseas experience. Among the 2012 study abroad students, 96.3 percent of those surveyed agreed that their study abroad experience gave them skills to "personally advocate for diversity", 90.4 percent believed that studying abroad increased their ability to "understand the richness of cultures different from your own", and 90.7 percent felt that the study aboard experience gave them skills to work and study effectively in a multi-cultural world.

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)

USF has hosted an Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program since 1936. ROTC is an elective curriculum taken along with the required college classes and can pay for a cadet's college tuition. ROTC currently operates on campus under the command of the Military Science Department.

Student clubs and organizations

USF is home to over 90 clubs and organizations including academic/professional, governance, cultural, service, social, political, athletic and special interest. The missions and goals of USF's student clubs and organizations are to provide programs and services that support students' leadership development and promote student engagement in co-curricular activities. .

The Associated Students of the University of San Francisco (ASUSF) Senate is the student body governance organization responsible for organizing major campus events, voicing student concern, and reviewing the ASUSF budget. . USF's professional and academic organizations include chapters of many national and international groups, including the Professional Business Fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, the Lambda Iota Tau English Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta, Jesuit Honor Society Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Political Science Honor Society Pi Sigma Alpha, Biological Honor Society Tri Beta, Accounting and Finance Honor Society Beta Alpha Psi and Psychology Honor Society Psi Chi. Professional organizations include the Family Business Association, Pre-Professional Health Committee, Pre-Dental Society, Hospitality Management Association, the Nursing Students Association, and the Entrepreneurship Club. Religious and spiritual organizations on campus include the Muslim Student Union, the USF chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and the USF Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. USF leisure and hobby organizations include a chapter of many national organizations: Best Buddies, Outdoors and Environmental Education Club, USF Queer Alliance, San Quentin TRUST Alliance, Knitting for Neighbors, Back to the Roots, Surf and Skate Club, and the Animation Comics and Video Games (ACV) Club. Cultural and multicultural organizations around campus serve international students, Indian students, Black students (the Black Student Union), Latin American students and Hawaiian Students. There are also groups specifically for women of color and Latina women. Social justice clubs on campus include chapters of Amnesty International, School of the Americas Watch, Up 'til Dawn, and Invisible Children. There is also a Politics Society, Philosophy Club, Women in Media Club, and Women in Science Club.

Student-produced media

The San Francisco Foghorn is the official student weekly newspaper of the University of San Francisco and is sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of San Francisco (ASUSF). The Foghorn was founded in 1926, and was first called The Ignatian. In the 1930s, members of The Ignation changed its name to San Francisco Foghorn to reflect the University's decision to change its name from St. Ignatius College to the University of San Francisco. The Foghorn has played a significant role on campus throughout the years, and has some notable alumni, including Pierre Salinger, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and Press Secretary for President John F. Kennedy, well-known author and historian Kevin Starr, and Leo T. McCarthy, former California Lieutenant Governor. The Foghorn gained national recognition in 1961, when the American Newspaper Publishers Association awarded it with a "Pacemaker Award". The Foghorn has been honored by the Associated Collegiate Press which deemed it "College Paper of the Year" in 1998. USF has a radio station, KUSF, which broadcasts online. The station had broadcast on radio frequency 90.3 FM since 1977, until the station's license was sold by the university on January 18, 2011, to a Southern California-based classical radio station. KUSF has garnered international attention for its diverse musical programming, which varies from rock to hip hop to world music. KUSF is the recipient of numerous awards, including many public service awards for the station's long-running weekly community service series. USF's other radio station, KDNZ, is student-run and programmed. The University of San Francisco has one television station, USFTV, which is broadcast on Channel 35 in the dormitories and around campus. The station was founded in 2006, and is entirely student-run. The station features a variety of content, including news, sports, cultural programming. In 2008, USFtv students collaborated with Wyclef Jean to create a music video for his song, "If I Was President". The Ignatian is USF's annual "literary magazine" that is published every spring. It has traditionally printed a wide array of different content, running from philosophical pieces to personal essays, short fiction, poetry, and photography.

Performing arts

USF has numerous student clubs for the performing arts, including a theater group (College Players), two-time Golden Gate Regional winning improvisational team (Awkward Silence), choir (ASUSF Voices), marching band (USF Don Marching Band), contemporary mass ensemble, and a dance program that focuses on social justice.

The College Players, founded in 1863, is the oldest student-run theater group west of the Mississippi and the second oldest in the United States. Their annual production of The Vagina Monologues distributes 100 percent of the show's proceeds to women charities around the Bay Area. ASUSF Voices is a collaboration between the associated students of USF and the Performing Arts Department. It contains a variety of choral ensembles, including jazz and other popular vocal styles. The USF Contemporary Mass Ensemble is a group of collective USF alumni, either vocal or instrumental, that perform during Mass every Sunday in St. Ignatius Church. The USF dance program is affiliated with the Performing Arts and Social Justice Major. Students can enroll in tradition and modern dance classes. Students are allowed to participate in the USF Dance Ensemble, which provides the opportunity for students to work with professional and student choreographers.

Greek life

All of the social sororities and fraternities that wish to be recognized by the university must participate in Greek Council. The purpose of Greek Council is to aid in the development of the university’s recognized Greek organizations and their individual members. Every year, chapters participate in some of the same activities, such as mixers and socials, Thanksgiving potluck, Christmas clothing drive, Homecoming, and Greek Games.

Social Fraternities and Sororities

The following are the social fraternities and sororities at USF:

Service

Academic/Honor Society/Professional

Student body

Among the total USF student population in the fall of 2016, 22.5 percent were Asian American, 6.2 percent were African American, 19.5 percent were Latino, 1.1 percent were Native American, 1.7 percent were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 16.3 percent were international, and 29.3 percent were white. There has been a 49.6 percent increase in the overall student enrollment from the fall of 2000 to the fall of 2016. By ethnicity, the number of Latino students has increased by 213.9 percent during this period, the number of Asian American students has increased by 101.3 percent, and the number of international students has increased by 172.6 percent. The African American student population has increased 64.1 percent since 2000, while the overall white student population has decreased by 1.6 percent during the past 15 years. The ethnic composition of all USF students in the fall of 2015 is displayed in Table 1.

During the first three decades of the 20th century, students of Asian ancestry began to enroll at St. Ignatius College, including Chan C. Wing, the first Asian American to be admitted to the bar in the history of California. In 1912, Mr. Wing, the son of immigrants from a small village near Canton, was accepted into the first law class at USF’s School of Law, then known as St. Ignatius College of Law. By the 1920s, Filipino students began to be part of the ethnic diversity of the institutions, and in 1929, an organization named the Filipino Ignatians was founded in the College of Arts and Sciences. St. Ignatius College changed its name to the University of San Francisco in 1930, the same year that one of the starting tackles of the football team, Isaiah Fletcher, became the first of many African Americans to play on the varsity intercollegiate team for the school. This was decades before most universities and colleges began to integrate their athletic team or their campuses. In 1936, Earl Booker, another African American, won the Intercollegiate Boxing Championship, while earning his bachelor's degree in history. Surveys show that USF students consistently value diversity at USF. A survey conducted for graduating students in May 2010 by USF's Office of Institutional Research indicated that 86.5% felt that individual ethnicity, religion, race and other differences were valued at USF. The same survey records that 70.5% of the graduating students agreed that their appreciation of those differences increased while they were at USF. The result was consistent with past surveys conducted on graduating students. From May 1997 to May 2010, the overall percentage of students who felt individual, ethnic, religious and other differences were valued at USF ranged from 77.0 percent to 86.5 percent. International students made up 16.3% of the student body in fall 2016. International students have a dedicated orientation period and a variety of internationally oriented student groups like the International Student Association, Global Living Community, an International Advisory Council, and an International Network Program. USF sponsors an annual International Education Week with an international fair featuring consulates in the San Francisco area, storytelling opportunities, educational speakers, and a performance event called "Culturescape".

Admissions

USF is categorized as a more selective university, according to U.S. News & World Report. The school's acceptance rate is 65% for admits in Fall 2015. For freshman enrolling Fall 2015, the average high school Grade Point Average (GPA) was 3.63 with a combined SAT score of 1161 from critical reading and math.

Financial aid

For the 2016-2017 financial aid year, 72 percent of all undergraduates were some form of awarded financial aid and 25 percent were awarded Pell Grants. For the 2016–2017 year, 26 percent of full-time, first-time freshman students were awarded Pell Grants, 82 percent were awarded institutional grants, and 83 percent were awarded some type of aid.

For the 2017-18 year, tuition for full-time undergraduates is $45,760. Including fees, housing, and dining, the total estimated cost of attendance for one year is $60,580.

Campus dining

USF's dining options span multiple locations around the campus:

Athletics

USF competes in the NCAA Division I and is a charter member of the West Coast Conference, along with local rivals Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California. Sports offered are men’s and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field, as well as men’s baseball and women's volleyball and sand volleyball. USF’s mascot is the Don and its colors are green and gold.

History

Athletics at USF dates back to its founding in 1855, when founder Anthony Maraschi, S.J. organized ball games as recreation for the first students. Intercollegiate competition dates back to 1907, when then St. Ignatius College began playing organized baseball, basketball, and rugby against other local colleges and high schools. Rivalries with neighboring Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California have their origins in this early period.

1951 USF Dons football team

The 1951 University of San Francisco Dons football team, coached by Joe Kuharich, went undefeated, with a record of 9-0, and the team produced nine future NFL players. Five became NFL Pro-Bowlers, and Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, and Bob St. Clair later were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame—a record for one college team. The team also had another first: Burl Toler became the first African American official in the NFL. Future NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle played a role as the Dons' Athletic Publicist. At the height of their success, the team experienced one of the greatest snubs in college football history. Due to the team having two African-American star players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, they were not invited to play in any of the college football bowl games hosted by the SEC (Southern Conference). This resulted in the team being invited to the Orange Bowl without Toler and Matson. The team refused the invitation. Guard Dick Columbini said "'No, we're not going to leave ‘em at home’ ... ‘We're going to play with ‘em or we’re not going to play.’" The USF Athletic Department was forced to drop its football program in 1952, due to a deficit in department funds.

Basketball

USF is also known for its men's basketball program. The men's team won three national championships: the 1949 NIT Championship, with Don Lofgran as MVP, and the 1955 and 1956 NCAA National Championships, going undefeated in the 1956 season. Led by NBA Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, the 1956 Dons became the first undefeated team to win a national championship, winning a then-record 60 games in a row from 1954 to 1956 before losing an exhibition game to the USA Men's Olympic Basketball team. Also of note, the 1954-1955 USF basketball teams became the first major college or university basketball team to win a national title with three African American starters (Russell, Jones, and Hal Perry).

Soccer

The soccer program began at USF in 1931, and from the beginning it has been a successful program, winning five titles from 1932–1936. Much of this was because of the All-American team captain Gus Donoghue who later returned to the university as the head coach in 1946. Donoghue won several titles, including a co-championship with Penn State in 1949. After his retirement in 1960, the programs successes went on under alumnus Stephen Negoesco, All American and Holocaust survivor, who played under Donoghue in the 50's. He coached the team from 1962 to 2000 and led the team to 540 wins and four national championships (1966, 1975, 1976, 1980). Negoesco was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003 after having won more games with his team than any other coach in the history of intercollegiate soccer competition in the United States. Under Negoesco's successor, alumnus Erik Visser, the men's team earned the 2004, 2005 and 2008 WCC titles.