Holy Family University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

university in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was chartered in 1954 by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In addition to the main Torresdale campus in the northeastern section of the city, there is a satellite location in Newtown. There was an additional satellite location on Bristol Pike in Bensalem that has since been sold and has not held classes since Spring of 2018.

History

Holy Family University was founded in 1954 by the

Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth are a Roman Catholic religious institute that was founded in Rome in 1875 by Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd (Franciszka Siedliska). The Sisters of the Holy Family are an apostolic, international ...

as Holy Family Teacher Training School. During the early years, the college functioned as an affiliate of the Catholic University of America. The graduate programs in education were approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in March 1990, followed by the Nursing and Counseling Psychology programs in 1997, and the Accelerated Business Administration program in 2003. The graduate program in Criminal Justice was approved in 2007. The graduate program in TESOL and Literacy was approved in 2008. The doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Professional Studies was approved in 2010. Holy Family is the youngest of the four Catholic universities in the city of Philadelphia; the others are Saint Joseph's, La Salle, and

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

Presidents

# Sister Neomisia Rutkowska, CSFN, PhD (1954–1959) # Sister Aloysius Sabacinska, CSFN, PhD (1959–1971) # Sister Lillian Budny, CSFN, PhD (1971–1981) # Sister Francesca Onley, CSFN, PhD (1981–2014) # Sister Maureen McGarrity, CSFN, PhD (2014–2021) # Anne M. Prisco, PhD (2021–present)

Academics

Holy Family University is divided into four schools: *Arts and Sciences *Business Administration and Extended Learning *Education *Nursing and Allied Health Professions In January 2011, a doctoral program was introduced for those pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Professional Studies.

Residence life

There are three housing options: St. Joseph's Hall, Garden Residence, and the Stevenson Lane Residence.

Athletics

Holy Family University has 14 varsity sports teams, nine women's and five men's teams. Their nickname is the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

and their colors are blue and white. Sandra Michael has been the Assistant Vice President of Athletics since 1985. She oversees the University's 14

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

sports. The teams at HFU compete in the

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (or CACC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Its fourteen member institutions are located in the northeaster ...

(CACC) which is composed of 14 colleges and universities located in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

. The CACC finished third nationally among Division II conferences. The women's teams are

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, and

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. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. The women's basketball team are nine time CACC Champions, winning the crown in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2015. They've appeared in the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including from 2004 to 2013 and in 2015. Holy Family University men's teams consist of basketball, cross country, soccer, and track and field (indoor and outdoor). In the 2015–16 season, the men's basketball team finished with a 23–5 record, including a 17-2 conference record, to secure the number one seed in the CACC Tournament.

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Philadelphia Educational institutions established in 1954 Catholic universities and colleges in Pennsylvania 1954 establishments in Pennsylvania Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Northeast Philadelphia Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities