St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Catholic liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the college became coeducational. The school currently enrolls about 2,180 students.
History
This is SNC - All you imagine college to be is waiting for you at St. Norbert College. Visit our website at www.snc.edu ... then come see us in person.
St. Norbert College was established when Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Dutch immigrant priest from the Premonstratensian Berne Abbey of Heeswijk, the Netherlands, founded the college to train young men for the priesthood. Frances I. Van Dyke, a seminarian, was the first and, at the time, the only student. St. Norbert is the first and only institution of higher learning in the world sponsored by the Premonstratensian order. Abbot Pennings later started a commerce program at the college for lay students before retiring in 1955.
St. Norbert's second president, the Dennis Burke, expanded the college, anticipating the student population would eventually reach 2,000. Robert Christin, who became president in 1968, implemented the current course system and the academic divisional structure. In 1973, Neil Webb, a former faculty member and vice president, became president. Webb established the first permanent endowment for the school. Serving as the college's president from 1983 to 2000, Thomas Manion led the expansion of facilities and the development of additional academic programs. Enrollment topped 2,000. Thomas Kunkel, former dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park became the seventh president of the college in 2008. Since then, the college has constructed the Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center, Gehl-Mulva Science Center, Cassandra Voss Center, Michels Commons, Schneider Stadium, Mulva Library, Gries Hall, Ariens Family Welcome Center and Todd Wehr Hall.
Academics
St. Norbert College offers undergraduate programs in more than 40 areas of study, leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, or Bachelor of Business Administration degree. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree is also offered through a joint effort with the Bellin College of Nursing. The most popular undergraduate majors are Business Administration, Teacher-Education, and Communication. In addition to its undergraduate offerings, St. Norbert College offers three masters-level graduate programs in business administration, theological studies and liberal studies. The Master of Theological Studies department hosts a branch program in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Program studies take place at the Norbertine Abbey of Santa Maria de la Vid in Albuquerque. Students on that campus can earn the full MTS degree. In the fall of 2015, the college began offering an MBA program through its new Donald J. Schneider School of Business & Economics. The Medical College of Wisconsin's Green Bay campus, which serves the northeast Wisconsin region, is located in the new Gehl-Mulva Science Center at St. Norbert.
St. Norbert College has a student-to-faculty ratio of 13.5:1 and an average class size of 20. Regardless of their major, students enrolled at St. Norbert College complete a 12-course (48 credit) Core Curriculum Program that emphasizes writing and the liberal arts. The school places an emphasis on its honors program, student-faculty collaborative research (as early as freshman and sophomore years), professional internships and study abroad.
Since 1991, St. Norbert was ranked as one of the top five comprehensive (bachelor's-level) colleges in the Midwest by U.S.News & World Report. In 2008, St. Norbert moved into the national liberal arts colleges category and is now ranked 127th of the 264 schools in the nationwide category. The college is also listed among the "Best in the Midwest" by the Princeton Review, and is ranked 113th out of 650 by Forbes on their list of America's Best Colleges.
Mulva Library provides digital and in-person reference services; hosts the Digital Commons, an institutional repository of documents, media, and other materials online;and provides a makerspace with technologies for the academic community. It is the home of the Center for Norbertine Studies, the international center of research on the Premonstratensians and Norbertines. The library also holds the college archives.
Campus
The campus consists of 111 acres (45Â ha), much of which borders the Fox River. Students typically walk to classes, even in the winter. The many trees and statues on campus provide a scenic view, especially in fall, when the foliage changes colors. Directly behind the Campus Center is a pavilion and marina where St. Norbert hosts a picnic for students to kick off the school year. This shoreline area is also the venue for a free summer concert series, open to the community.
Important social buildings include the Ray Van Den Heuvel Family Campus Center (Campus Center), which includes a fitness center, gymnasium, and diner (Phil’s Diner) and a reading lounge with a picturesque view overlooking the Fox River. There is also an events hall for movies and public speakers. Special events put on by student groups are also held there, such as comedian appearances and awareness speeches.
Old St. Joseph's Church contains a statue/shrine of Saint Joseph that was crowned by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. Novena devotions are held on Wednesday.
Student life
More than 75% of students live on campus in residence halls, apartments and townhouses. St. Norbert requires all traditional undergraduate students not registered as commuters to live on campus. Freshman housing includes four traditional residence hall options: Madelaine-Lorraine Hall (co-ed), Sensenbrenner Hall (women-only), Bergstrom Hall (co-ed Honors students), and Burke Hall (co-ed). Campus housing options for sophomores include Mary Minahan McCormick Hall, Michels Hall, and Victor McCormick Hall. Upperclassmen enjoy the Townhouses and Carriage House (apartment-like housing), college-owned houses and college-owned apartments, including Gries, Xanten and Prémontré Halls.
Student involvement
There are more than 80 registered student clubs and organizations on campus. More than half of students participate in one of these groups, making student involvement an important aspect of campus life. St. Norbert encourages its students to become involved in their community through community service, and also by participating in one of the 15 fraternities, sororities, and independent social groups. The school also has 8 National Honor Society chapters, two student publications, and eight musical and performance ensembles. A major activity for St. Norbert students participate in is the annual "Into The Streets" community service project that provides service to organizations in De Pere and neighboring communities. This event is staffed by first-year students, staff and faculty, and is part of the First Year Experience program.
Greek life
Greek life at St. Norbert includes four sororities and four fraternities, as well as two Greek governing groups. Greek groups sponsor fund-raising activities, food drives, and benefits to support charities. Greek groups collectively completed a total of 2,117 hours of service and raised $9,638 for their respective philanthropies during the 2015-16 school year.
Fraternities
There are four fraternities on the St. Norbert campus: Delta Upsilon (Î"Î¥), Phi Delta Theta (ΦÎ"Θ), Tau Kappa Epsilon (ΤΚΕ), and Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ).
Sororities
There are four sororities on the St. Norbert campus: Alpha Xi Delta (Î'ΞÎ"), Delta Phi Epsilon (Î"ΦΕ), Kappa Beta Gamma (ΚÎ'Î"), and Theta Phi Alpha (ΘΦÎ').
Independent social organizations at St. Norbert are non-Greek groups that provide a social outlet for members, while also performing service to the campus and local community. These groups also participate in Homecoming events with the Greek groups. Women’s social organizations include BUD, CC Hams, The Electric Company, No Nonsense, and Untouchables. Men’s social organizations include Admar and BIG.
Athletics
The St. Norbert College Green Knights participate in NCAA Division III athletics and have been members of the Midwest Conference since 1982. St. Norbert offers 20 varsity sports including: football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's hockey, softball, baseball, men's and women's track and field, cheerleading and dance.
St. Norbert's men's hockey team competes in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. St. Norbert won the Division III national championship in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018 and were runners up in 2004, 2006 and 2010. The St. Norbert hockey team were the NCHA regular season champions from 1997â€"1999, 2002â€"2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and have won the post-season tournament in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014. They have been one of the most successful Division III hockey teams in the new millennium.
The Green Knight football team has won 16 Midwest Conference championships since joining the league in 1984.
In addition to varsity sports, St. Norbert also offers intramural sports.
The St. Norbert men's lacrosse team, created in 2004, competes in the Great Lakes Lacrosse League. St. Norbert delivered its first division championship in 2010.
The Green Bay Packers have conducted training camp on the St. Norbert campus since 1958, making this the league's longest training camp relationship between a team and school. In exchange, the Packers donate their used equipment and provide St. Norbert yearly grants.
Notable alumni
References
External links
- St. Norbert College Website
- St. Norbert College Athletics Website
