Carroll College is a small, private, Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Helena, Montana, United States. Carroll College has earned national and regional awards for its academic programs, most notably in its Pre-Med and Nursing Majors. Carroll's colors are purple and gold. The school's sports teams are labelled the Saints, colloquially known as the "Fighting Saints." Their speech and debate (forensics) team is known as the "Talking Saints."
History
Carroll was founded on September 27, 1909 by John Patrick Carroll, second Bishop of the Diocese of Helena, Montana. It was originally called Mount St. Charles College to honor St. Charles Borromeo. It was founded as an all-men's liberal arts college with an emphasis on preparing men for careers in the priesthood, law, medicine, teaching and engineering. Carroll is now coeducational. In 1932 the college was renamed in honor of its founder. During World War II, Carroll College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. Carroll College's Neuman Observatory is the oldest astronomical observatory in the state of Montana. The 1989 Helena train wreck caused significant damage to Carroll, notably to Guadelupe Hall, the women's dormitory at the time.
Recognition and awards
- Ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the #1 Regional College in the West in America's Best Colleges 2016 Edition, #1 School for Veterans, and #1 Best Value School.
- Thirteen faculty members have received Fulbright Scholarships
- Carroll College Forensics team in 1999 won a national title in parliamentary debate from the National Parliamentary Debate Association. The team has been the Northwest Region Champions for 26 consecutive years.
- In the Mathematical Contest in Modeling and the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling between 2002 and 2010, 3 Carroll teams were ranked Outstanding Winner
Student life
Carroll College's female to male student ratio is nearly 3:2 (59%/41%). Montana residents comprise just over two-thirds of the total student body (Montana/Out-of-State: 68%/32%). Of students reporting a religious preference, 60% are Catholic. From an admissions standpoint, US News and World Report indicates Carroll as being "more selective" with an average incoming GPA of 3.46 and ACT of 25. Tuition and fees for the 2014-15 academic year are $28,607. Total estimated attendance (with room and board) is approximately $40,220.
Carroll has over 35 active student clubs or student groups. Groups include CAMP, or Carroll Adventuring and Mountaineers Program, Carroll Crazies, Up 'Til Dawn, Saints' Swing Dance Society, Engineers Without Borders, Carroll Student Activities (CSA), and Carroll Outreach Team. CAMP offers mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, hiking, backpacking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, and more. CAMP provides trips for students to explore the outdoors during academic breaks, such as a spring break to Moab, UT. The Carroll College newspaper, The Prospector, is student-run and student-written.
Academics
Carroll college offers numerous academic majors in the major liberal arts and life sciences, as well as engineering, education, computer science, nursing, ROTC, and theology. The school offers as well as several medical pre-professional programs including Pre-seminary, pre-med, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy and pre-veterinary. The school is known for a higher than average rate of acceptance of its students into medical school. The national average medical school acceptance rate is approximately 44%. Carroll College students have an 85% average acceptance into med school and dental school. Unique to the college is a Human-Animal Bond Program, now anthrozoology . It offered the first such undergraduate degree in the US. Carroll also offers an Intensive Language Institute for international students and specialty programs in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
Campus
Carroll College has four residence halls on campus. These are Trinity Hall, Borromeo Hall, Guadalupe Hall, and St. Charles Hall. Additionally, Carroll has on-campus apartments open to 3rd year students and above. Carroll has community advisors on every floor of every residence hall, and community advisers are in charge of putting on events for members of his or her floor.
The football stadium is known as Nelson Stadium. In 2017, the Hunthausen Activity Center (HAC) will house student recreation and fitness. The Student Center is informally known as "The Cube," derived from "Carroll Campus Center," or C-cubed.
Simperman Hall houses classrooms, science labs, and offices for professors. Wiegand Amphitheater, located in Simperman Hall, seats approximately 140 students, and student groups sometimes show movies for the student body. Built in 1979, the Corette Library houses classrooms, computer labs, study rooms, conference rooms, and a small auditorium. It is open to the general public for use. St. Charles has classrooms, professors' offices, a small chapel, and the president's office and staff. In addition, the Artaza centerâ€"the center for global educationâ€"is located in St. Charles. On the fourth floor of St. Charles is the bouldering wall, open to students to climb. Old North, the north wing of St. Charles, was a gymnasium for Mount St. Charles College. Now, Old North houses the theater and fine arts. In Spring of 2017, Old North will be converted to a chapel. St. Albert's Hall is the alumni and development office. The Civil Engineering building has a fully equipped lab, and the engineering department hosts occasional barbecues.
Presidents
- Stephen J. Sullivan: 1910-1912
- John L. McMullen: 1912-1917
- Peter F. MacDonald: 1917-1919
- John J. Tracy: 1919-1920
- Norbert C. Hoff: 1920-1932
- Emmet J. Riley: 1932-1951
- R. Vincent Kavanagh: 1951-1957
- Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen: 1957-1962
- Anthony M. Brown: 1962-1969
- Joseph D. Harrington: 1969-1974
- Dr. Francis J. Kerins: 1974-1989
- Dr. Matthew J. Quinn: 1989-2000
- Stephen C. Rowan: 2000-2001
- Dr. Thomas Trebon: 2001â€"2011
- Dr. Paula McNutt: 2011-2012
- Dr. Thomas Evans: 2012â€"2017
- Stephen C. Rowan: 2017-
Athletics
Carroll College teams, nicknamed athletically as the Fighting Saints, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Frontier Conference. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, track & field and volleyball. Recently, in preparation for the college's anticipated transition to NCAA Division II, they have added men's soccer and women's softball teams to the list of varsity sports.
The Carroll Fighting Saints football team began playing in 1920 and is one of the most successful programs in the NAIA division of college football. The team has won 11 straight Frontier Conference Championships (2000â€"2011), ten national final appearances, including six straight (2000â€"2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), and six NAIA National Football Championships in ten years (2002â€"2005, 2007, 2010). The 1931 football team was undefeated, untied, and unscored upon and finished the season as state champions. The Fighting Saints were also the first collegiate coaching home for John Gagliardi, known as the winningest coach in all of college football (regardless of division). Gagliardi coached at Carroll for four years before moving to St. John's University in Minnesota, where he coached them for 60 seasons.
Notable alumni
- Mary Fantazia, Captain in US Army
- Casey FitzSimmons, former member of the Detroit Lions (NFL)(2003â€"09)
- John Gagliardi, football coach
- Maggie Gordon, Client Services Representative, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Rod Grams, former member of the United States Senate from Minnesota
- Norman "Jeff" Holter, biophysicist
- Raymond Hunthausen, former Archbishop of Seattle
- Joseph P. Monaghan, United States Representative from Montana
- Jerry J. O'Connell, former member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana
- Bobby Petrino, Head coach of the Louisville Cardinals football team
- Marc Racicot, former Republican governor of Montana
- George Leo Thomas, the current Bishop of Helena
- Bernard Joseph Topel, Former Catholic Bishop of Spokane (1955â€"1978)
References
External links
- Official website
- Official athletics website
- NAIA official website