Sacred Heart University

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Sacred Heart University was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. It was established to provide the community with an affordable, quality education at a local Catholic university. From its outset, the University bore the mark of innovation. Charting a new direction within American Catholicism, the University was to be led and staffed by the laity independent and locally oriented, serving the needs of the diocese and of southwestern Connecticut.

Signs of the University's growth and vibrancy are evident. Enrollment has risen from the original class of 173 to almost 5,700 full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, and the faculty has increased from 9 to 187 full-time professors and over 300 adjunct professors.

The University has enhanced the undergraduate student experience in several notable ways. In 1990, it accepted for the first time students who wanted the residential experience. It now has 10 residential buildings with 70% of the full-time undergraduates residing in university housing.

New degree programs and majors in relevant disciplines are regularly added to our curriculum. The University offers Division I athletics with 32 varsity teams. The $17.5 million William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center is available to all students and to the community at large. Recognizing the importance of technology, Sacred Heart University provides all undergraduate students with a laptop computer. The University campus is a wireless environment.

The University consists of four colleges: College of Arts & Sciences, John F. Welch College of Business, College of Education and Health Professions, and University College. University College is committed to the adult learner, and its evening, weekend and accelerated courses earn praise for their diversity and relevance to changing lifestyles.

An ever-widening outreach to the community balances the University's commitment to academic excellence. The Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Studies (1990-2004) has helped educate more than 25,000 men and women for pastoral and catechetical work and other Church ministries. The Center for Spirituality and Lay Ministry provides opportunities for theological updating and spiritual development as well as programs to bridge the gap between the world of work and the world of the spirit. And the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU), which earned the personal endorsement of Pope John Paul II, has become a global leader in fostering interreligious dialogue. Closer to home, more than 1,200 students, faculty and staff members volunteer in excess of 31,000 hours to community service year.

www.sacredheart.edu/