Salve Regina University

On March 6, 1934, the state of Rhode Island granted a charter to the Sisters of Mercy of Providence for a corporation to be named Salve Regina College (translated in Latin to mean "Hail Queen" or "Hello Queen"). The charter specified that the college would exist "to promote virtue, and piety and learning". In 1947 the corporation received the gift of Ochre Court, a 50-room Newport mansion, and admitted its first class of 58 students in the autumn of that year.[3] The college's first president was Mary Matthew Doyle (1870–1960), who was also the first Mother Provincial of the Sisters of Mercy of Providence.[4]

During the 1950s two more buildings were added to the campus: Moore Hall, originally built in 1890, was donated to the college in 1955 by Cornelius Moore, a former Newport mayor and chairman of the original board of trustees; McAuley Hall, originally the Vinland Estate, was donated to the college in 1955 by the daughter of Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly.

Originally a women's college, Salve Regina became coeducational in 1973, added graduate programs in 1975 and achieved university status in 1991. The changes came about during the tenure of its longest-serving president, Lucille McKillop, who headed the institution from 1973 until 1994. During that time the school went from 1000 students studying nine majors to over 2300 students studying 25 majors.[5]

By 2000 the campus had expanded to 60 acres and included 18 buildings of historical significance. The university received an Historic Preservation Award from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission in 2000 for its work in the preservation and "sensitive adaptation" of the buildings and the 1999 National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[6][7][8] In 2002 the university received a Getty Grant Program award to develop a campus heritage preservation plan.[9]

In December 2015 the university received a Tree Campus USA designation, a program of the Arbor Day Foundation which recognizes and encourages the best practices of planting and caring for campus trees and the engagement of students in environmental stewardship. The University was also accredited by the Morton Arboretum as a Level II arboretum for its historic trees and landscapes in 2016.[10]

The university is ranked annually by several national and international publications. For 2020, it was ranked 23rd in the Regional Universities (North) category by U.S. News & World Report magazine. In 2018 it was ranked among the Top 50 Most Beautiful Colleges in America by Architectural Digest magazine.[11] In 2018 it was ranked by Zippia as one of the Top 10 colleges in the U.S. for career placement.[12] For the 2018-19 year, Money magazine ranked it as one of the Most Transformative Colleges in the U.S.[13]

The university offers associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a variety of majors. The university has two PhD programs, in international relations and the humanities, but does not provide placement data about its PhD students.[14][15] The university also offers the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges[16] with additional accreditation from other bodies for professional programs such as business studies, visual arts, counseling, education, nursing, and social work.

According to the university, in the three years prior to 2016, it received an average of 5,000 yearly applications, of which 3,000 students were admitted from 35 US states and 20 other countries. Admission to the nursing program is more selective, with 40 percent of nursing applications typically accepted.[17][18] There are also a number of study abroad programs.[19]

Financial aid is offered through a variety of grants, scholarships, loans and part-time work-study employment. Some of the programs are funded by outside bodies and others funded by the university itself. The university also participates in the Post-9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program to provide educational funding for veterans and their families.[20]

The university competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference and its quasi-independent football arm, Commonwealth Coast Football, and offers ten sports for women (soccer, field hockey, tennis, cross country, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, softball, track and field, and lacrosse), eight for men (football, cross country, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, tennis, baseball, and lacrosse), and one co-ed sport (sailing). It also has a club sports program. The men's and women's rugby clubs compete in the Colonial Coast Rugby Conference.[34]

• Story in the Public Square
• List of current and historical women's universities and colleges in the United States
• Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
• List of Roman Catholic universities and colleges in the United States
• Seaview Terrace (aka Carey Mansion)

• McKillop, Lucille (Summer 1986). "Salve Regina—The Newport College". New Directions for Higher Education, Vol. 1986, Issue 54, pp 77–85 (subscription required)
• Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, catalogue for the exhibition John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred, McMullen Museum of Art, September 1-December 13, 2015. (Illustrated article on the three large stained glass windows by La Farge in the chapel)

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• Official website
• Official athletics website