Seton Hill 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 recorded ...
Catholic university in
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,976 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, Greensburg is a part of the Greater Pittsbu ...
, United States. Originally a
women's college
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...
, it became a
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 ...
university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students.
History
The school was founded in 1885 by the
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...
.
It is named for
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic religious and educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. Born in New York and reared as an Episcopalian, she ...
, who founded the Sisters of Charity and who, after her death, was canonized as the first US-born saint.
In 1914, Seton Hill Junior college was opened by the Sisters of Charity. With the approval of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Seton Hill College was created four years later.
In 1946, 40 male World War II veterans were accepted as students at Seton Hill. During the 1980s, men were regularly admitted to many programs at Seton Hill College, including music and theater. In 2002, Seton Hill was officially granted university status by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Seton Hill University received widespread public attention after announcing a technology plan that includes providing an
iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
to all full-time students, as well a 13"
MacBook
MacBook is a type of Mac laptop computer that is developed and marketed by Apple that use Apple's macOS operating system since 2006. The MacBook brand replaced the PowerBook and iBook brands during the Mac transition to Intel processors, ann ...
to all incoming freshmen. Upon graduation, students keep both devices. Beginning in the fall of 2013, new full-time students will receive an iPad Mini and new full-time freshmen will be provided with a MacBook Air. Seton Hill University is recognized as an Apple Distinguished School.
Academics
Seton Hill divides its undergraduate programs into six schools: Business, Education & Applied Social Sciences, Humanities, Natural & Health Sciences, and Visual & Performing Arts. In addition to their major, all students take liberal arts core classes in arts, mathematics, sciences, culture, history, and writing. The university also offers twelve graduate programs. Subjects include art, writing, education, therapy, business, orthodontics, and physician assistant studies.
The typical class size for courses in the major is about 20–25. Liberal arts core classes tend to be larger, at 30-45 students.
LECOM at Seton Hill
LECOM, one of the largest
medical schools
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
in the United States, entered a partnership with SHU and extended its LECOM Erie campus to the university in 2009. LECOM at Seton Hill added an additional 104 medical students to the first-year class, and, now, it has graduated more than 1,000 physicians since the first graduating class of 2013.
SHU is also one of LECOM's EAP (Early Acceptance Program) affiliates, allowing qualified high school seniors to apply for its combined BS/DO program and get accepted to LECOM before entering SHU or while studying in the underclassmen years at SHU.
Athletics

The Seton Hill athletics teams are called the Griffins. The university is a member of the
Division II ranks 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. ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...
(PSAC) since the 2013–14 academic year. The Griffins previously competed as a member of the
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 2006–07 to 2012–13; and in the
American Mideast Conference of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...
(NAIA) from 1999–2000 to 2006–07. During the 2006–07 school year, Seton Hill had dual membership with both the NAIA and the NCAA as part of the transition.
Seton Hill competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
History
After president JoAnne Boyle formalized the school's new status as a university, the teams' nickname was changed from "Spirits" to "Griffins," and several men's athletics teams were added, including
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. In 2006, Seton Hill announced it was transferring to
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...
and joining the WVIAC as a provisional member (with full WVIAC competition in 2007–08). Prior to that, they had belonged to the NAIA and in the American Mideast.
As of July 1, 2013, following the breakup of the WVIAC, along with the
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, also from the WVIAC, Seton Hill joined the PSAC.
In 2005, 60% of the entering class was male, due to an influx of male students who were interested in new sports programs such as football. In 2008, the football team had a 10–3 record. The football team and the men's soccer team each won the inaugural West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's team sportsmanship award in 2008.
In 2006, the baseball team received a berth to the
NAIA World Series
The NAIA World Series (officially branded as the Avista NAIA World Series for sponsorship purposes from 2013) is a double-elimination tournament, held since 1957, to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate ...
in the program's third year of existence.
In 2014, the baseball team had its most successful season; winning the PSAC, the Atlantic Regional, and advancing to the College World Series. The team ended up finishing top six in the country.
In 2022, Seton Hill created their first Esports team. The team is co-ed and includes about 25 students.
In 2025, the school put the student newspaper, ''The Setonian'', on an indefinite hiatus.
Notable alumni
*
Eileen DeSandre
Eileen DeSandre is an American stage actor and a member of the Actors' Equity Association. Known for much of her career as a character actor in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, she has more recently taken lead roles in a vari ...
, actor
*
Ronne Froman,
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
and Commander of
Navy Region Southwest
*
Patricia A. Gabow '65, CEO of Denver Health
*
Hubertina D. Hogan '47, Army chemist
*
Maureen O'Connor, '73 and sixth woman to serve as an
Ohio Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...
justice.
*
Kameron Taylor, professional basketball player
*
Stephanie M. Wytovich editor, novelist and poet
References
External links
*
Athletics website
{{Coord, 40.309, -79.556, region:US-PA_type:edu, display=title
Former women's universities and colleges in the United States
Catholic universities and colleges in Pennsylvania
Universities and colleges established in 1883
Universities and colleges in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
1883 establishments in Pennsylvania