La Salle University
Encyclopedia
La Salle University is a private
, co-educational, Roman Catholic university
located in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the school was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
. As of 2008 the school has approximately 7,554 students, about 63% of whom are undergraduates. The 2009 freshman class was the largest in nearly 30 years. Located in northwestern Philadelphia, the university is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church
through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Its name is commonly misspelled or represented as "LaSalle", omitting the proper space. The comprehensive cost for a year of tuition is $42,850.
of Archdiocese of Philadelphia
. It was first located at St. Michael's Parish on N. 2nd Street in the Olde Kensington section
of Philadelphia. La Salle soon moved to the building vacated by St. Joseph's College at 1234 Filbert Street in Center City, Philadelphia
. In 1886, La Salle moved to a third location, the former mansion of Michael Bouvier, the great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
, at 1240 North Broad Street
. La Salle finally moved to its current campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Olney Avenue in 1930. The new location had a suburban feel with ample land, but was linked to the city by trolleys and the newly constructed Broad Street Subway
.
The 1930s proved to be a tumultuous decade for La Salle, which was nearly bankrupt. The main academic building on campus, College Hall
was unable to be finished due to a lack of funds, and the college nearly closed in the late-1930's. The school's closing was prevented by a 75th Anniversary Fund Drive in 1938, spearheaded by Philadelphia businessman John McCarthy. Funds raised from this drive also enabled La Salle to purchase a tract of land to the east of 19th Street, where Philadelphia had intended to build a city college.
La Salle nearly closed again due to a lack of students during World War II
, and the football team
was disbanded due to a lack of players, but the school experienced a period of growth in the late-1940's. Several new buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s, including a new library, student union
, and a science building. It was also during this time that the first student residence halls were constructed at La Salle, mostly on land purchased from the former Belfield Country Club. Additional student housing was provided by purchasing or renting local homes, such as the house known as "The Mansion", on David and Logan Blain's Belfield Estate
.
La Salle admitted women to its regular classes in 1970, becoming a fully co-educational institution. A year later, La Salle opened Olney Hall, its main academic building. It also continued to expand its property throughout the 1970s and 1980s, buying land along Chew Avenue, along with the Belfield Estate in 1984, and to the south of main-campus, the orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. It was also during this era, in 1984, that La Salle was granted University status. Recently, La Salle has acquired the former Germantown Hospital, now West Campus, and constructed The Shoppes at La Salle shopping center across the street in 2008.
Communication, Nursing, and Education are the largest majors at La Salle.
Several new and distinctive high-tech majors include Integrated Science, Business and Technology (ISBT) and Digital Arts and Multimedia Design (DArt). The College of Professional and Continuing Studies offers three accelerated cohort programs in Business Administration, Corporate Communication, and Organizational Leadership.
The university also offers master's degree
s and doctorate
degrees in several courses of study.
Every undergraduate, regardless of school or major, must complete a strict Core curriculum in order to graduate
. Offering sustained study in a broad range of disciplines, the Core curriculum provides students with an opportunity to build a strong educational foundation for the future. Guided by La Salle's heritage as a Catholic university, the core curriculum reflects La Salle's strong commitment to the interdependence of intellectual and spiritual growth. Its aim is to help students find an engaging living as part of an engaged life. As future competitors in a rapidly re-forming world, students need intellectual resources that keep pace with current innovations; as future innovators, students need spiritual resources that guide human beings towards humane reforms.
Undergraduates must complete the three facets of the Special Core Programs, as well as courses within the three Course Objectives.
, Football
La Salle University's 23 varsity
sports teams, known as the Explorers
, compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference
. The name derives from a 1931 mistake made by a sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French
explorer Sieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St. John-Baptiste de la Salle and was officially chosen in a student contest during the spring of 1932.
La Salle's teams have won two national championship
s: The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
and the 1980 Division II AIAW Field Hockey
Championship. The school also won the 1952 National Invitation Tournament
. La Salle's major historic rival
has been the Hawks of the Saint Joseph's University
, especially in men's basketball
. Not only are both schools situated in Philadelphia, but they are also both Catholic, private institutions.
, the estate of Charles Willson Peale
, the Revolutionary War patriot and painter famous for his portraits of the founding fathers, most notably, George Washington
. His home is the current office of the University president and is possibly the oldest building currently in use by any university in the nation.
La Salle has an art museum located in the basement of Olney Hall that houses a collection of European and American art from the Renaissance to the present. The museum also owns a number of special collections including rare illustrative Bibles and Japanese prints. The art museum is also home to the “Walking Madonna” one of four by the British artist Dame Elisabeth Frink. Frink created the sculpture in 1981, the other “Walking Madonna” sculptures remain in England, with one in Salisbury and the other in Frink’s garden at her home.
A satellite campus
and Conference Center in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
, the La Salle University Bucks County Center, offers graduate courses in various disciplines, undergraduate courses in nursing, and continuing education courses. The Conference Center comprises fifteen instructional rooms with seating capacities ranging from 20 to 40, along with four computer laboratories with 100 workstations.
La Salle also offers M.B.A. and Clinical-Counseling Psychology M.S.
classes at the Plymouth Meeting
Metroplex Corporate Center in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
.
La Salle also offers other food options such as the Blast Smoothie Bar, and Intermissions, a late night dining facility, both of which are in the Student Union. La Salle owns and runs The Explorers Den, a cheesesteak
, pizza and burger shop located on the 2100 block of Olney Avenue.
, a cable TV Educational-access television station available to 300,000 subscribers. The university also has a student-run radio station, WEXP
along with over 100 other intramurals, clubs, and NCAA division I sports offered.
Learning is the reason students attend La Salle in the first place. Involvement is the mechanism through which learning can happen. Community provides the environment that most strongly promotes involvement. Making strong relationships is the first step toward forming a community.
Accommodating the above facilities while orchestrating seamless connections between the disparate areas of the campus is one of the Plan's greatest accomplishments. Topography, city streets, and heavy traffic, all initially appeared as impediments to the development of a true campus. Improved vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns now yield enhanced links to memorable spaces, uniting this Campus into one whole, while satisfying all programmatic requirements.
In the Fall of 2005, the $26 million dollar first phase of this master plan was completed with the construction of Tree Tops Cafe (dining hall) and St. Basil Court (Residence Hall).
St. Basil's houses approximately 430 students. Three of the building's wings feature "suites", in which four students share two bedrooms and one bathroom. The fourth wing's rooms have the traditional one-room for housing two students with communal bathrooms. The facilities have lounges, study rooms, and special purpose rooms. Basil is the only co-educational dorm at La Salle in which both genders may live on the same floor (albeit not in the same room).
A $2.5 million dollar athletic field renovation was completed in the Fall of 2006.
In May 2007, the university purchased adjacent Germantown Hospital for $10 million dollars. The 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) acquired has become "West Campus", and increased the campus size by 25 percent.
A $15 million dollar shopping center and supermarket complex opened in Fall 2008.
Phase two is the completion of the New Science and Technology Building. The University has revealed that they have already raised $20 million dollars towards the $25 million necessary to complete the facility http://www.lasalle.edu/advancement/sh2sh/. It was completed in Fall 2009.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
, co-educational, Roman Catholic university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
located in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the school was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
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...
. As of 2008 the school has approximately 7,554 students, about 63% of whom are undergraduates. The 2009 freshman class was the largest in nearly 30 years. Located in northwestern Philadelphia, the university 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...
through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Its name is commonly misspelled or represented as "LaSalle", omitting the proper space. The comprehensive cost for a year of tuition is $42,850.
History
La Salle College was founded in March 1863 as an all-male school by Brother Teliow and Archbishop James WoodJames Frederick Wood
James Frederick Bryan Wood was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of Philadelphia, serving between 1860 and his death in 1883.-Early life:...
of Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was...
. It was first located at St. Michael's Parish on N. 2nd Street in the Olde Kensington section
Olde Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Olde Kensington is a neighborhood located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Olde Kensington is north of Northern Liberties, south of West Kensington, east of Ludlow, and west of Fishtown. The boundaries of the neighborhood are roughly between Cecil B Moore Ave...
of Philadelphia. La Salle soon moved to the building vacated by St. Joseph's College at 1234 Filbert Street in Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
. In 1886, La Salle moved to a third location, the former mansion of Michael Bouvier, the great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
, at 1240 North Broad Street
Broad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
. La Salle finally moved to its current campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Olney Avenue in 1930. The new location had a suburban feel with ample land, but was linked to the city by trolleys and the newly constructed Broad Street Subway
Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority that runs from Fern Rock Transportation Center in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia...
.
The 1930s proved to be a tumultuous decade for La Salle, which was nearly bankrupt. The main academic building on campus, College Hall
College Hall (La Salle University)
College Hall is the original academic building on La Salle University's campus, It is located at 1900 W. Olney Avenue in Philadelphia. College Hall presently houses the Schools of Business and Business Administration, the Campus Ministry Center, and the La Salle University Archives...
was unable to be finished due to a lack of funds, and the college nearly closed in the late-1930's. The school's closing was prevented by a 75th Anniversary Fund Drive in 1938, spearheaded by Philadelphia businessman John McCarthy. Funds raised from this drive also enabled La Salle to purchase a tract of land to the east of 19th Street, where Philadelphia had intended to build a city college.
La Salle nearly closed again due to a lack of students 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...
, and the football team
La Salle Explorers
La Salle Explorers is the name of the athletic teams from La Salle University. The school's 23 varsity sports teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference. The American football team previously played in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football...
was disbanded due to a lack of players, but the school experienced a period of growth in the late-1940's. Several new buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s, including a new library, student union
Student activity center
A student activity center is a type of building found on university campuses. In the United States, such a building is more often called a student union, student commons, or student center...
, and a science building. It was also during this time that the first student residence halls were constructed at La Salle, mostly on land purchased from the former Belfield Country Club. Additional student housing was provided by purchasing or renting local homes, such as the house known as "The Mansion", on David and Logan Blain's Belfield Estate
Belfield Estate
Belfield Estate was a area of land in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, much of which is now a part of La Salle University’s campus. The estate is most notable for being the estate of American painter and naturalist Charles Willson Peale from 1810 to 1826....
.
La Salle admitted women to its regular classes in 1970, becoming a fully co-educational institution. A year later, La Salle opened Olney Hall, its main academic building. It also continued to expand its property throughout the 1970s and 1980s, buying land along Chew Avenue, along with the Belfield Estate in 1984, and to the south of main-campus, the orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. It was also during this era, in 1984, that La Salle was granted University status. Recently, La Salle has acquired the former Germantown Hospital, now West Campus, and constructed The Shoppes at La Salle shopping center across the street in 2008.
Academics
La Salle offers undergraduate concentrations in nearly 60 academic areas within its College of Professional and Continuing Studies and its three Schools: Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, and Nursing & Health Sciences.Communication, Nursing, and Education are the largest majors at La Salle.
Several new and distinctive high-tech majors include Integrated Science, Business and Technology (ISBT) and Digital Arts and Multimedia Design (DArt). The College of Professional and Continuing Studies offers three accelerated cohort programs in Business Administration, Corporate Communication, and Organizational Leadership.
The university also offers master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s and doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
degrees in several courses of study.
Every undergraduate, regardless of school or major, must complete a strict Core curriculum in order to graduate
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
. Offering sustained study in a broad range of disciplines, the Core curriculum provides students with an opportunity to build a strong educational foundation for the future. Guided by La Salle's heritage as a Catholic university, the core curriculum reflects La Salle's strong commitment to the interdependence of intellectual and spiritual growth. Its aim is to help students find an engaging living as part of an engaged life. As future competitors in a rapidly re-forming world, students need intellectual resources that keep pace with current innovations; as future innovators, students need spiritual resources that guide human beings towards humane reforms.
Undergraduates must complete the three facets of the Special Core Programs, as well as courses within the three Course Objectives.
Special Core Programs
The Special Core Programs consists of the Doubles Program, First Year Odyssey, and Understanding at Home and Abroad.- In the Doubles Program, all students are required to enroll in a "Double" during their freshman year. Doubles are thematically linked Core courses in different disciplines. In the Doubles program, students will explore some or all of the topics in these courses under the guidance of two professors. A sense of academic and social community forms.
- The First Year Odyssey is a one-credit program, which introduces students to La Salle University and the city of Philadelphia through activities such as field trips and campus wide programs. Students participate in the First Year Odyssey as part of designated courses or in special First Year Odyssey sections.
- Understanding at Home and Abroad refers to fostering the Christian Brothers' ideals of community, social justice, and compassionate understanding across barriers dividing human beings. Students are required to enroll in one course in the Academic Bulletin designated by the symbol of a "house" (Understanding at Home) and one course designated by the symbol of a "plane" (Understanding Abroad). Some students may fulfill the Understanding at Home or Understanding Abroad requirement through an independent project with the approval of the Department Chair and the Core Director. Faculty and staff will mentor a limited number of such projects.
Course Objectives
The Course Objectives consist of the Powers, Frameworks of Scientific Understanding, and Patterns of Meaning.- Powers refers to competencies that enable students to learn, to think, and to communicate. With this course work, students will emerge from the core curriculum possessing a strong set of skills in reading, writing, oral communication, and mathematics. They will also learn how to use computer technology to aid their work in each of these areas. These competencies will be integrated in courses in all areas of the Core, but will be taught directly in courses in writing, public speaking, mathematics, and computer science.
- Frameworks of Scientific Understanding refers to concepts and methods learned in courses in the natural and social sciences. In these courses students will become familiar with the scientific method and sharpen their understanding of the natural processes and the social developments, which shape the world in which we live. The "Frameworks of Scientific Understanding" category includes courses in economics, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, chemistry, geology, and physics.
- Patterns of Meaning refers to a set of capacities students must acquire to engage the moral, aesthetic, and spiritual significance of human events and achievements. Courses in the humanities (religion, philosophy, literature, history, fine arts and foreign languages) will enable students to develop these capacities.
Course Requirements
All courses in the core may be counted towards any minor or major barring exclusions by the academic departments sponsoring the minor or major. To complete the Core requirements, most School of Arts and Sciences majors must complete a maximum of 19 courses; School of Business Administration majors, a maximum of 16 courses; and School of Nursing and Health Sciences majors, a maximum of 15 courses.Athletics
See also: Men's BasketballLa Salle Explorers men's basketball
The La Salle Explorers Men's Basketball Team is the college basketball program representing La Salle University.-History:The program has been rated the 53rd "Greatest College Basketball Program of All-Time" by Street & Smith's magazine and 71st by the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia.La Salle...
, Football
La Salle Explorers football
The La Salle Explorers football team is a former American football team representing La Salle University. The team competed in the MAAC football league at the Football Championship Subdivision level .-History:...
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
sports teams, known as the Explorers
La Salle Explorers
La Salle Explorers is the name of the athletic teams from La Salle University. The school's 23 varsity sports teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference. The American football team previously played in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football...
, compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference
Atlantic Ten Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference is a college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States' eastern seaboard. It also has two member schools in Ohio: Dayton and Xavier, located in Dayton and Cincinnati, respectively. Another member, Saint Louis is located in St. Louis, Missouri...
. The name derives from a 1931 mistake made by a sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
explorer Sieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St. John-Baptiste de la Salle and was officially chosen in a student contest during the spring of 1932.
La Salle's teams have won two national championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
s: The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 24 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1954, and ended with the championship game on March 20 in Kansas City, Missouri...
and the 1980 Division II AIAW Field Hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
Championship. The school also won the 1952 National Invitation Tournament
1952 National Invitation Tournament
The 1952 National Invitation Tournament was the 1952 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. The 1952 tournament was won by La Salle University. Tom Gola and Norm Grekin were co-MVPs.-Selected teams:...
. La Salle's major historic rival
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
has been the Hawks of the Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...
, especially in 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...
. Not only are both schools situated in Philadelphia, but they are also both Catholic, private institutions.
Campus
La Salle moved to its fourth and present location in 1931. The campus is located in part on BelfieldBelfield Estate
Belfield Estate was a area of land in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, much of which is now a part of La Salle University’s campus. The estate is most notable for being the estate of American painter and naturalist Charles Willson Peale from 1810 to 1826....
, the estate of Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale was an American painter, soldier and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, as well as establishing one of the first museums....
, the Revolutionary War patriot and painter famous for his portraits of the founding fathers, most notably, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. His home is the current office of the University president and is possibly the oldest building currently in use by any university in the nation.
La Salle has an art museum located in the basement of Olney Hall that houses a collection of European and American art from the Renaissance to the present. The museum also owns a number of special collections including rare illustrative Bibles and Japanese prints. The art museum is also home to the “Walking Madonna” one of four by the British artist Dame Elisabeth Frink. Frink created the sculpture in 1981, the other “Walking Madonna” sculptures remain in England, with one in Salisbury and the other in Frink’s garden at her home.
A satellite campus
Satellite campus
A satellite campus or branch campus is a campus of a college or university that is physically detached from the main university or college area, and is often smaller than the main campus of an institution....
and Conference Center in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Newtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,248 at the 2010 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is entirely surrounded by Newtown Township, from which...
, the La Salle University Bucks County Center, offers graduate courses in various disciplines, undergraduate courses in nursing, and continuing education courses. The Conference Center comprises fifteen instructional rooms with seating capacities ranging from 20 to 40, along with four computer laboratories with 100 workstations.
La Salle also offers M.B.A. and Clinical-Counseling Psychology M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
classes at the Plymouth Meeting
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
Metroplex Corporate Center in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
.
Food
La Salle has two dining halls, one on each end of campus. The newer Treetops Cafe is on south campus next to St. Basil Court and St. John Neumann Residence Halls and is open seven days a week. The Blue and Gold Commons, located on Olney Avenue, next to the North Residence Halls Complex, is only open on weekdays. In both of these dining halls, one may purchase food with a meal plan, Food Account Money, or cash. In the La Salle Student Union is The Union Food Court, which has several "store fronts". Each of these "store fronts" specializes in a certain type of food, including pizza, burgers, baked goods, sandwiches, salads, and international cuisine. Unlike the other two dining facilities, meal plan is not accepted.La Salle also offers other food options such as the Blast Smoothie Bar, and Intermissions, a late night dining facility, both of which are in the Student Union. La Salle owns and runs The Explorers Den, a cheesesteak
Cheesesteak
A cheesesteak, also known as a Philadelphia cheesesteak, Philly cheesesteak, cheese steak, or steak and cheese, is a sandwich made from thinly-sliced pieces of steak and melted cheese in a long roll...
, pizza and burger shop located on the 2100 block of Olney Avenue.
Student Housing
Since 1953, La Salle has hosted resident students. There are several student housing complexes: North Residence Halls, Sts. Edward and Francis Residence Halls, St. Miguel Townhouses, St. Teresa Court Apartments, La Salle Apartments, and the South Campus Residence Halls (St. Basil Court and St. John Neumann).Student life
Students at La Salle are offered many varied opportunities to participate at different degrees and in many different ways. There are several organizations and a student programming center whose mission is primarily to plan activities (games, movie nights, bus trips, etc.) for the students of La Salle University. The Communication Department operates La Salle 56La Salle 56
La Salle TV is a Public, educational, and government access cable television station that offers a Educational-access television channel run by La Salle University and carried within Philadelphia’s city limits on the Comcast Cable system...
, a cable TV Educational-access television station available to 300,000 subscribers. The university also has a student-run radio station, WEXP
WEXP (La Salle University)
WEXP is a Philadelphia college radio station with a freeform radio format. It airs live on 1600 AM in Philadelphia and online.- History :WEXP opened its doors at La Salle University in 1972. Initially, the radio station could only be heard inside the Student Union building, and the start-up price...
along with over 100 other intramurals, clubs, and NCAA division I sports offered.
Greek life
One of the aspects of La Salle's social scene are its fraternities and sororities. La Salle's Greek community consists of five sororities (Alpha Theta Alpha, Alpha Sigma Tau, Gamma Phi Beta, Gamma Sigma Sigma, and Delta Phi Epsilon) and seven fraternities (Alpha Phi Delta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Alpha Chi Rho, Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Phi Lambda, Phi Beta Sigma, and FIJI)."Day ONE"
The first day of a student's time at La Salle occurs at the orientation program called Day ONE, which stands for Orienting New Explorers. The day consists of giving essential information to new students and their families, but its primary objective is to build relationships: relationships between the new students and other new students, between the new students and their upper division student hosts, between new students and administration and faculty, and between the students' families and the school.Sessions
During the orientation students make their schedule, get their photo taken for their ID, and participate in discussion sessions about important information. Resident students get a presentation on living on campus and see a residence hall, while commuters see a similar presentation about getting involved while living off campus. The other important aspect of this day in the introduction of The Affirmation, which is read line by line and discussed throughout the different sessions of the day.Philosophy
Learning, Involvement, Community, RelationshipsLearning is the reason students attend La Salle in the first place. Involvement is the mechanism through which learning can happen. Community provides the environment that most strongly promotes involvement. Making strong relationships is the first step toward forming a community.
Distinguished accomplishments
- La Salle has graduated 58 students who have been named Fulbright Scholars.
- A nearly perfect 98 percent of La Salle's applicants to medical schoolMedical schoolA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
who have been recommended by the pre-medical committee have been admitted to medical school. - La Salle ranks 7th out of 253 schools of its type as the undergraduate point of origin of doctoral degree recipients over a 75-year period.
- La Salle is one of only 19 colleges and universities in the nation to have been invited to participate in the Kemper Scholars Program.
- La Salle graduates have won nine Emmy Awards.
- More than 1,700 La Salle students annually donate more than 100,000 hours of community serviceCommunity serviceCommunity service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
in activities including neighborhood cleanups, rebuilding homes, and tutoring. - La Salle's chapter of Beta Gamma SigmaBeta Gamma SigmaBeta Gamma Sigma or ΒΓΣ is an honor society for business students and scholars. Founded in 1913 at the University of Wisconsin, it has over 650,000 members, selected from over 500 chapters in AACSB-accredited business schools...
, the international business honor society, was named the outstanding chapter in the world in 2004.
Expansion and Master Plan
La Salle has worked with Philadelphia architecture firm H2L2 to assist in the development of a Campus Facilities Master Plan, building upon a previous plan completed by the University in 1985. Key components of the Master Plan are the following: New Science and Technology Building, New Athletic Arena, Student Recreation Center, additional student housing, Dining Hall, Chapel, Fine Arts and Theater Building, parking garage, and additional commercial activity.Accommodating the above facilities while orchestrating seamless connections between the disparate areas of the campus is one of the Plan's greatest accomplishments. Topography, city streets, and heavy traffic, all initially appeared as impediments to the development of a true campus. Improved vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns now yield enhanced links to memorable spaces, uniting this Campus into one whole, while satisfying all programmatic requirements.
In the Fall of 2005, the $26 million dollar first phase of this master plan was completed with the construction of Tree Tops Cafe (dining hall) and St. Basil Court (Residence Hall).
St. Basil's houses approximately 430 students. Three of the building's wings feature "suites", in which four students share two bedrooms and one bathroom. The fourth wing's rooms have the traditional one-room for housing two students with communal bathrooms. The facilities have lounges, study rooms, and special purpose rooms. Basil is the only co-educational dorm at La Salle in which both genders may live on the same floor (albeit not in the same room).
A $2.5 million dollar athletic field renovation was completed in the Fall of 2006.
In May 2007, the university purchased adjacent Germantown Hospital for $10 million dollars. The 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) acquired has become "West Campus", and increased the campus size by 25 percent.
A $15 million dollar shopping center and supermarket complex opened in Fall 2008.
Phase two is the completion of the New Science and Technology Building. The University has revealed that they have already raised $20 million dollars towards the $25 million necessary to complete the facility http://www.lasalle.edu/advancement/sh2sh/. It was completed in Fall 2009.