Terrier Tuesday marks the start of the 2011-2012 school year at St. Francis College. All incoming freshman are required to attend the day-long event which gives them an up close look at all the club, Greek and athletic opportunities St. Francis has to offer. Students also participate in games, team building and ice breaking exercises to jump start their participation in the social community of the College.

Once classes begin on Wednesday, all students will have access to a wide variety of new courses, newly completed science labs and a new web address (sfc.edu) to make it easier to find St. Francis online.

American Studies / Brooklyn Historical Society
As creator and director of the new American Studies Certificate program, Professor Athena Devlin wants to give St. Francis students a better understanding of American culture. “In my introductory class I’ll bring students outside of the classroom and take a hard look at how we are affected by our incredibly diverse culture. New York City and its amazing patchwork of ethnicities is the backdrop for the course.”

To earn the American Studies certificate, students take six interdisciplinary courses, all created specifically for the program. The work crosses over a variety of majors and fields of study that might not otherwise seem connected like Fine Arts and Business Management; all are geared towards giving students a better understanding of American culture and America’s part in a global society.

“You can take your American Studies experience anywhere,” said Fine Arts Professor Jennifer Wingate, Assistant Director of the program. “Having this on your resume will give you a leg up in everything from law and education to human resources and management.”

In a separate program, students will also be able to take five courses linked with the Brooklyn Historical Society. The courses, in a variety of fields including History, Religion and Fine Arts, will give students the unique opportunity to work directly with original documents held at the society, some of which are several hundred years old.

Science Labs
The renovation of science and technology spaces at St. Francis continued this summer with the creation of a brand new Organic Chemistry lab and chemical preparation room. The new rooms will immediately be put into service for all science and pre-med majors including students who are studying Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

sfc.edu
To make the College’s website more easily accessible, St. Francis has succeeded in replacing the longer web address with the new sfc.edu. New emails with the shorter name will follow at the end of the year.

Forbes.com
For the fourth year in a row, St. Francis College has been named to the Forbes.com America’s Best Colleges list, moving up 38 slots from last year’s ranking.

“Forbes/CCAP only rank the top 650 undergraduate schools in the country. There are more than 6,000 such institutions, so inclusion on the list means you are in the top 11% or so of all schools,” writes Michael Noer, Forbes Editor of the America’s Top Colleges list on the Forbes.com website.

Educational Promotions
St. Francis promoted Timothy J. Houlihan to the position of Provost. Houlihan previously served as Academic Dean and will continue to hold the title of Vice President for Academics.

New Dean of Academic Program Development Allen Burdowski previously served as Department Chairman for both Biology and Information Technology and as Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Programs.

Psychology Professor and former Chair of the Psychology Department Michele Hirsch was promoted to Assistant Academic Dean.

Clear Passages
In an effort to bolster the College’s commitment to the health of its students, faculty, staff and administrators, St. Francis is pleased to announce the launch of the tobacco-free campus “Clear Passages” policy. Clear Passages will help promote wellness, responsible citizenship and a commitment to the environment. The policy aims to move smokers away from the building entrances and surrounding areas in a Franciscan manner - emphasizing education, support and respect while relying on cooperation and peer encouragement across campus

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.

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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu