Rivier University is a

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Catholic university in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

, United States. Rivier is accredited by the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and othe ...

and approved by the

New Hampshire Department of Education The New Hampshire Department of Education is the state education agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is headquartered in Concord. Frank Edelblut has led the department as commissioner since February 16, 2017. History New Hampshire ...

History

The school, initially named "Rivier College", was founded in 1933 as by the

Sisters of the Presentation of Mary The Sisters of the Presentation of Mary (PM) are a religious congregation in the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1796 at Thueyts in the Ardèche department of south-central France, by Anne-Marie Rivier (1768–1838) ...

Hudson, New Hampshire Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located along the Massachusetts state line. The population was 25,394 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-largest municipality (town or city) in the state, by populatio ...

. The congregation named the college in honor of its founder, Anne-Marie Rivier. In 1941, the college moved to its present campus location in Nashua. The university was incorporated in 1935 and granted the authority to offer both graduate and undergraduate level programs. The university is dedicated to Anne Marie Rivier's mission of Catholic social teaching and serving the economically disadvantaged. On January 15, 1960, Massachusetts Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and his wife,

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

, visited Rivier College shortly after leaving the City Hall Plaza in Nashua, where he held his first event for his candidacy for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In 1991, the college became

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

, admitting its first male undergraduate students. Rivier College was renamed Rivier University on July 1, 2012. In 1994, Rivier was sued in federal court by Mary Nedder, an assistant professor of religious studies at Rivier, under the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) after the university declined to renew her contract because of her weight. Sister Jeanne Perreault, the President of Rivier at the time, allegedly made her views about overweight faculty known and in a report circulated among the faculty stated that "fat teachers do not get much respect from students." Nedder won her lawsuit and was reinstated.

Campus

Rivier University's campus consists of 44 buildings spread over in Nashua. It has four residence halls—Trinity, Guild, Presentation, and Brassard—which accommodate 421 students. Rivier offers intercollegiate club sports and has a student activities office, a multicultural office, counseling center, career development center, and campus ministry. Rivier has a chapter of

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

. There is a

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Club, a Business Club, a Biology Club, an Alliance Club (Gay-Straight Alliance), and numerous other organizations. Club membership is open to any interested student. Student clubs and activities are student-run, some with faculty advisors. Club funding is delineated through the school's

Student Government Association A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organization ...

Academics

Rivier University enrolls approximately 2,500 students. It includes the school of undergraduate studies, which includes traditional day programs, a professional studies division for undergraduate online and evening programs, and the school of graduate studies. Rivier is a member of the New Hampshire College & University Council, a consortium of institutions of higher learning. The university offers traditional courses, online courses, and hybrid courses.

Athletics

Rivier University teams (nicknamed the ''Raiders'') participate as a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

. The Raiders are a member of the

Great Northeast Athletic Conference The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). History Chronological timeline * 1995 – In 1995, th ...

(GNAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. In 2020, Marika Lyszczyk, a player from Canada, became the first woman to catch in a men's college baseball game while playing for Rivier University.

Notable faculty

* Herman T. Tavani -

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

in information and computer ethics, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of philosophy.

Notable alumni

* Robert A. Baines - former mayor of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, NH, college professor, educator. * Skip Cleaver - politician,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

veteran. * David Danielson - politician, NH

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

veteran. * Ivan Edwards (physician) - ex-pastor,

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

flight surgeon, community activist, CEO. *

Donnalee Lozeau Donnalee Lozeau was the mayor of Nashua, New Hampshire, from 2007 to 2015. She was Nashua's first female mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city ...

- politician, former mayor of

Nashua, NH Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. It is one of two county seats of New Hampshire's most populou ...

; first female mayor of Nashua, NH. *

Cindy Rosenwald Lucinda "Cindy" Rosenwald (born April 23, 1954) is a Democratic state senator for the 13th district of New Hampshire, representing six of Nashua's nine wards since 2018. Rosenwald serves on the Senate Capital Budget, Executive Departments & Ad ...

- politician, educator. * Frank Snow - politician, businessman,

veteran,

US Customs The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal in ...

inspector. *

John Sibley Williams John Sibley Williams (born December 7, 1978, in Melrose, Massachusetts) is an American poet, educator, and literary agent. He is the author of "As One Fire Consumes Another" (winner of the 2018 Orison Poetry Prize), "Skin Memory" (winner of the 20 ...

- poet, educator, journal editor.

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{portal bar, New Hampshire Education in Nashua, New Hampshire Universities and colleges established in 1933 Universities and colleges in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Buildings and structures in Nashua, New Hampshire 1933 establishments in New Hampshire Catholic universities and colleges in New Hampshire Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester