St. Mary's University is a private

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

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Founded by the

Society of Mary (Marianists) The Society of Mary ( la, Societas Mariae) abbreviated SM is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (brothers and priests) commonly called the Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. Its members add the nominal ...

in 1852, St. Mary's is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

. With a student population of nearly 4,000, St. Mary's is home to a College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; School of Science, Engineering and Technology; the Greehey School of Business; and the

St. Mary's University School of Law St. Mary's University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of St. Mary's University, a private Catholic university located in San Antonio, Texas. Academics The School of Law has an enrollment of about 770 students, pursu ...

History

Founded as St. Mary's Institute, the school opened on Aug. 25, 1852, with a faculty of five and an enrollment of twelve boys. In 1921 all college classes were transferred from downtown to the St. Louis College campus. In 1923, St. Louis College became St. Mary's College with an enrollment of twelve in the freshman class. Grade school and high school students remained at the downtown school, which adopted the name St. Mary's Academy. The new St. Mary's College quickly gained senior college status and in 1927 the first class of bachelor's degree candidates graduated from the newly renamed St. Mary's University. In 1932, the high school programs at St. Mary's Academy relocated from the College Street campus to become Central Catholic High School. After over a century as an all-male institution, St. Mary's opened its doors to female students in 1963 and became a coeducational university. In 1987, Polish-American silent film star

Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femm ...

left most of her estate to St. Mary's University, including a collection of memorabilia and several rare prints of her films. St. Mary's University also set up a scholarship in her name.

Academics

St. Mary's is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In addition, the Greehey School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Electrical and industrial engineering programs in the School of Science, Engineering and Technology are recognized through accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Law school

In October 1927, the San Antonio Bar Association established the San Antonio School of Law, and for seven years after its founding was administered by a board of governors under the control of the bar association. Until the School of Law became associated with a physical campus, classes were held at the Bexar County Courthouse. In an attempt to maximize educational and material resources of the fledgling institution, the Board of Governors negotiated with St. Mary's University regarding a transfer of the School of Law's administrative control. The transfer was completed on October 1, 1934, and St. Mary's University School of Law was officially established. The School of Law was then housed at St. Mary's University's then downtown campus at 112 College Street, situated near the San Antonio River Walk. Possessing several military bases, San Antonio experienced a surge of population and industry in the years immediately following World War II. This exponential growth resulted in more law students. To meet these new demands adequately, the School of Law organized itself to meet the requirements of the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. It received accreditation from the ABA in February 1948 and became a member of the AALS in December 1949. On December 19, 1967, the School of Law relocated from the College Street campus to join the main campus of St. Mary's. A multimillion-dollar expansion project had provided for the addition of eight new buildings to the main University campus, including a lecture hall, law library, and faculty building comprising the Law Center. The school held its first classes the next month, in January 1968. Since 1968, the school has had several structures rededicated, renovated, or expanded, including the Law Administration Building, housing the office of the dean; the Law Classroom Building; and the Sarita Kenedy East Law Library, dedicated in 1984 after the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation gave the School of Law $7.5 million to fund its construction in January 1982.

Athletics

St. Mary's University is a member of

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 ...

and the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in T ...

and sponsors 12 men's and women's sports at the varsity level. St. Mary's has won four team national championships in men's basketball (1989), baseball (2001), softball (1986 and 2002), and one individual national title in men's golf (2006). In 2020, St. Mary's launched an E-Sports team.

Student life

There are a total of 68 registered organizations. During the beginning of the semester, the Office of Resident Life, in cooperation with student organizations, hosts a "Rattler Round Up" for incoming freshmen and other students. Most of the students live in one of the 13 residence halls. These halls are divided among upper and lower classmen with some being mixed, but no strict enforcement is placed upon the assignment of rooms.

Events

In April, St. Mary's University and the city of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

plays host to

Fiesta San Antonio Fiesta San Antonio (or simply "Fiesta") is an annual festival held in April in San Antonio, Texas, and is the city's signature event (along with some events held in the following surrounding cities: Boerne, Schertz, Windcrest, Balcones Heights ...

. On campus, the university hosts Oyster Bake, a combination of concerts, food stalls, and carnival rides. The university has played host to the event since 1916 and it has since become a major event in the city culturally and economically. The event is open to students, who are also able to participate in "Rattler Fest" which is a exclusive festival for St. Mary's students prior to the larger Oyster Bake.

Greek Life

St. Mary's University is home to twelve Greek organizations, no Greek organization is permitted to have a house due to a city ordinance preventing boarding homes. Every Friday Greek Life hosts "Quad" where every active social fraternity and sorority hangout in the morning behind St. Louis Hall. Many of the events that are open to the entire campus are organized by the campus' IFC chapter. The IFC operates as a regulatory body upon all fraternities on campus, and is the primary link between the school administration and the independent student organized and operated fraternities. Fraternities and sororities on campus include: *

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College (now the University of Richmond), and its national headquarte ...

Sigma Lambda Beta Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Incorporated () (known as Betas, Lambda Betas or SLB) is a historically Latino based fraternity in the United States, now expanded to include a multicultural membership. Founded in 1986 at the Univers ...

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social fraternity with 181 active chapters and provisional chapters. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest Greek letter fraternity in the United States. The ...

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

* Alpha Sigma Tau *

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fo ...

Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma Sigma (), also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women's sorority. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization encompassing 26 national sororities or women's fraterni ...

Delta Zeta Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...

* Alpha Phi Omega * Omega Delta Phi * Kappa Delta Chi * Beta Sigma Phi *

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the Schoo ...

Notable alumni

Politics, law, and service

* Fernando Andrade, M.A. 1979, Congressman at the

Congress of the Republic of Peru The Congress of the Republic of Peru ( es, Congreso de la República) is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is compose ...

(2011–2016) and former Mayor of the

Miraflores District, Lima Miraflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is a residential and upscale shopping district south of downtown Lima. It is also one of the most affluent districts that make up the city of Lima. It has several hotels (including the Hil ...

(1996–1999 and 2003–2006) * Stuart Bowen, J.D. 1991,

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (October 2004 - October 2013) was created as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General (CPA-IG). SIGIR was an independent government ...

* Leonel Castillo, B.A. 1961, Houston City Comptroller, 1972, Commissioner Immigration Naturalization Services, 1977 * James R. Clapper Jr., M.S. 1970, Political Science, Director of National Intelligence *

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1995 t ...

, J.D. 1975, former governor of Pennsylvania and the state's former attorney general *

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...

, J.D. 1977, U.S. Senator from Texas; former justice,

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of ...

; St. Mary's Distinguished Law School Graduate (1994) *

David Alan Ezra David Alan Ezra (born 1947) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Since January 2013, Ezra has been designated by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court to serve on ...

, B.B.A. 1969, J.D., 1972, Senior Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, former Chief Judge,

United States District Court for the District of Hawaii The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii (in case citations, D. Haw.) is the principal trial court of the United States Federal Court System in the state of Hawaii. The court's territorial jurisdiction encompasses the sta ...

* Rick Galindo, B.S. in Finance and Risk Management, c. 2003, Republican member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

from District 117 in Bexar County * Delia Garcia, M.A., 2004, First Latina and youngest female legislator at age 27 elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, 2004 *

Charlie Gonzalez Charles Augustine González (born May 5, 1945) is an American Democratic politician from Texas. He represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2013. He served as Chairman of Latinos for Oba ...

, J.D. 1972, U.S. Congressman * Henry B. Gonzalez, LL.B. 1943, former U.S. Congressman * Paul W. Green, J.D. 1977, Texas Supreme Court Justice * Thad Heartfield, B.A. 1962, J.D. 1965, chief judge for the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to ...

* Glenn Hegar, M.A., Texas state senator since 2007; Member of the Texas House from 2003 to 2007, candidate for Comptroller of Public Accounts in 2014 Republican primary election * Peter Kinder, J.D. 1979, lieutenant governor of Missouri * Nico LaHood, J.D. 2002, former District Attorney of Bexar County, Texas * Alma Lopez, J.D. 1968, Chief Justice, Texas Fourth Court of Appeals * Frank L. Madla, B.A. 1959, M.A. 1962,

Texas state senator The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximate ...

and

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

* Marina Marmolejo, M.A., J.D. 1996, District Judge,

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ...

Michael McCaul Michael Thomas McCaul Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security during the 113th ...

, J.D. 1987, U.S. Congressman *

Scott McInnis Stephen Scott Emory McInnis McInnis is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and is an honorary adviser for the National Student Leadership Conference. Political career Colorado House of Representatives From 1983 to 19 ...

, J.D. 1980, U.S. Congressman * Mario G. Obledo, LL.B. 1960, co-founder of the

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 by Jack Greenberg to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States."MALDEF" entry in ''Los Angeles A to Z: An ...

* Tony Sanchez, B.A. 1965, J.D. 1969, unsuccessful candidate for governor of Texas, 2002 gubernatorial election * Frank M. Tejeda, B.A. 1970, Texas state representative,

, U.S. Congressman * Alfred Valenzuela, B.A. 1970, M.A. 1979,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

* Willie Velasquez, B.A. Civil Right Activist, Founder Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, posthumously awarded

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

1995 * Don S. Wenger,

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Nelson Wolff Nelson William Wolff (born October 27, 1940) is a retired American judge and Democratic politician from San Antonio, Texas. He represented Bexar County in the Texas House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and the Texas Senate from 1973 to 197 ...

, B.B.A. and J.D. 1966, Texas representative, senator, San Antonio mayor, Bexar County judge * Kevin Patrick Yeary, B.A. 1988, Law 1991, judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in San Antonio

Business

* Benjamin Biaggini, B.S. 1936, former president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad * Felix Stehling, co-founder of Taco Cabana * William E. Greehey, B.S. 1960, founder of

Valero Energy Corporation Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power. It is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Throughout the United States and Can ...

and NuStar Energy. The Greehey School of Business was named in his honor in 2005.

Religion

Michael Joseph Boulette Michael Joseph Boulette (born June 4, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas since 2017. Biography Early life Michael J. Boulette wa ...

, B.A. 1971, Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio (2017-) * J. Arturo Cepeda, M.A. 2001, Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit *

Richard Gaillardetz Richard R. Gaillardetz (born 1958) is an American theologian specializing in questions relating to Catholic ecclesiology and the structures of authority in the Roman Catholic Church. For his dissertation he researched ‘the Theology of the Ordinar ...

, M.A. 1984, Joseph McCarthy Chair of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College * Bernard Ferdinand Popp, M.A. 1975, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of San Antonio *

Raymond Roussin Raymond O. Roussin was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver from 2004 to January 2009, when his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI. Curriculum vitae Born, Raymond Roussin, on June 17, 1939, in St. Vital, Winn ...

, S.M., B.A. 1960, first Marianist archbishop, Archbishop of Vancouver 2004–09

Athletics

* Melvin Allys "Bert" Gallia, Class of 1911, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher for the Washington Senators,

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

and Philadelphia Phillies *

Danny Heep Daniel William Heep (born July 3, 1957), is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Heep, who batted and threw left-handed, played for five different ballclubs during his 13-year career: the Houston Astros (1979–1982), New York Mets (198 ...

, former

outfielder and

1988 World Series The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the N ...

Champion * George Koch, American football player * Jeff Kubenka, B.A. 1996, former Major League Baseball pitcher * Robert Reid, B.A. 1977, former

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player for the Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets,

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, and Philadelphia 76ers *

Marcus Session Marcus Session is a former American professional basketball player. He was born December 3, 1981, in Houston, Texas. He attended Milby High School, where he played for Coach Boyce Honea. Marcus began his college career at San Jacinto College wh ...

, B.A. 2004, former

(pre-season) and

International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

player

Arts, entertainment, and media

* Theodore Albrecht, B.M.E. 1967, musicologist * Brian Anderson, broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers * Charles Fincher, J.D. 1971, American cartoonist ("Thadeus & Weez") * Larry Levinson, B.A. 1979, executive producer of more than 160 made-for-television movies * Bobby Pulido, Class of 1995, Mexican-American

Tejano music Tejano music ( es, música tejana), also known as Tex-Mex music, is a popular music style fusing Mexican and US influences. Typically, Tejano combines Mexican Spanish vocal styles with dance rhythms from Czech and German genres – particular ...

recording artist * John Quiñones, B.A. 1974,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

correspondent and co-anchor of ABC News' '' Primetime'' * John Santikos, B.A. 1949, movie theater entrepreneur

Education

* Mary Lynne Gasaway Hill, B.A. 1986, M.A. 1990, M.A. 1991, American poet, writer and professor * José Ángel Gutiérrez 1968, attorney, co-founder of the

Mexican American Youth Organization The Mexican American Youth Organization (acronym MAYO, also described as the Mexican Youth Organization) is a civil rights organization formed in 1967 in San Antonio, Texas, USA to fight for Mexican-American rights. The creators of MAYO, Los Cinco ...

, president of Raza Unida Party, professor at the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

References

External links

*
St. Mary's Athletics website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's University Marianist universities and colleges Educational institutions established in 1852 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Universities and colleges in San Antonio Catholic universities and colleges in Texas Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities 1852 establishments in Texas