Ave Maria University

Ave Maria College was founded by Catholic philanthropist and former Domino's Pizza owner and founder Tom Monaghan on March 19, 1998, occupying two former elementary school buildings in Ypsilanti, Michigan, near the campus of Eastern Michigan University.[7]

Monaghan's goal was to create a Roman Catholic university faithful to the magisterium of the Catholic Church, providing a liberal arts education in a Catholic environment. He originally intended to construct a full college campus on his 280-acre (1.1 km²) property in nearby Ann Arbor, known as Domino's Farms.[7] The plan for the Ann Arbor campus also included a 25-story crucifix, a size about half the height of the Washington Monument.[7]

After being denied zoning approval by Ann Arbor Township to build a larger campus near Domino's Farms, Monaghan decided to move the college to Florida. Monaghan initiated the founding of the Florida institution Ave Maria University with a donation of $250 million.[8][9] In August 2003, the university opened an interim campus in The Vineyards in Naples, Florida, enrolling some 100 undergraduate students, 75 of whom were freshmen.[8] While occupying the interim campus, Monaghan focused efforts on constructing a new campus and planned community nearby known as Ave Maria, Florida. The Barron Collier family donated the land in southwest Florida for the campus, joining Monaghan in the enterprise as 50% partner.

While the infrastructure of the new campus and town were being completed in early 2007, the Ypsilanti campus was also closing at the end of the 2006–2007 academic year. Monaghan planned to have most of the staff transferred to the Florida location. The Michigan location remained open until students graduated or transferred, leaving just three students for the final year and a number of the remaining staff.[10]

The university moved from the temporary facility to the new campus in 2007.[11] In its first year at the new campus, the university enrolled about 450 undergraduates and 150 graduate students. Bishop Frank Dewane, the local Catholic ordinary, formally dedicated the university in 2008.[12]

In March 2007, the original provost of the university, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., was dismissed by Monaghan for undisclosed reasons.[13] In a formal statement, Monaghan, in his role as chancellor, stated that the dismissal was because of "irreconcilable differences over administrative policies and practices."[14] Immediately, the school's first-ever student protests were mounted in support of Fessio.[15] Outside observers were critical: editor Philip F. Lawler of the conservative Catholic World News said the firing was "institutional suicide", and that if a respected theologian such as Fessio could be fired then no others would want to fill the position.[15] Monaghan reinstated Fessio the next day as theologian-in-residence. He was dismissed from that position in 2009, stating he was fired because of a conversation he had with Academic Vice President Jack Sites about administrative policies harming the university's finances.[16][17] He said his firing was "another mistake in a long series of unwise decisions" but that he would continue to guide students to AMU.[17] The provost position remains vacant.[18]

Monaghan expects to continue expanding the university and hopes to one day have an enrollment over 5,000, Division I athletics and an academic reputation as "a Catholic Ivy".[11] In 2011, James Towey, former Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and former President of Saint Vincent College, was named the president of Ave Maria University after a unanimous vote by the AMU Board of Trustees. He also assumed the role of CEO, in the place of Monaghan, who remains the Chancellor.[19]

The 2008 financial crisis took a toll on Ave Maria's finances. Monaghan said in 2012 that Ave Maria's construction cost estimates doubled over three years, requiring the university to cut back on planned buildings. The troubled Florida real estate market also meant that Ave Maria School of Law had to shelve its plans for a building in Ave Maria, as its existing campus was worth less than was paid for it.[20] According to Towey, for a period of time the university survived through Monaghan's funding of a ten million dollar annual deficit. Towey credits his efforts at controlling financing costs, along with increased contributions, with placing the university back on a firm financial footing by 2014.[6]

In February 2012, Ave Maria made national news when it filed its lawsuit Ave Maria University v. Sebelius,[21] suing the government over the US Health and Human Services birth control mandate by claiming that it would force the university to forego its religious freedom. It became the second college to do so, and was followed by several others, including the Franciscan University of Steubenville and the University of Notre Dame. The lawsuit is represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.[22] In June 2012, President Towey wrote that the university would "vigorously prosecute its lawsuit".[23] In 2016, the Supreme Court unanimously sent the case back to federal appeals court to find a solution that would both honor religious organizations objections and provide their employees with birth control. Ave Maria administrators celebrated the decision as a "great victory."[24][25]

The university's growth has fallen short of its stated goal of "growing the University's undergraduate enrollment at its main campus in Florida to approximately 1,700 students by the fall of 2016"[26] and 1,500 by the year 2020.[27][28]

The university ran a satellite campus in Nicaragua called the Ave Maria University-Latin American Campus for 13 years, and then sold it to Keiser University in July 2013.[29][30]

In 2021, it was ranked in the Top 8% (115 of 1472 colleges) in the "Best Colleges for the Money" by CollegeFactual [31]

In June 2010, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) declared that Ave Maria had obtained "accredited membership" status. This allows the university to award bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees accredited by the SACS.[45] The university had previously received full accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) in June 2008.[46] On October 7, 2011, the local ordinary, Bishop Frank Joseph Dewane, formally recognized the institution as a Catholic university pursuant to the code of canon law. In December 2015, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaffirmed Ave Maria University's accreditation.[47]

Ave Maria University offered study abroad programs in Gaming, Austria, and in San Marcos, Nicaragua. Instruction was conducted in English. The Austrian program required an additional $1,750 beyond regular tuition, along with the added expense of airfare and ground transportation, while the Nicaraguan program required no additional tuition. Ave Maria's Nicaraguan program was discontinued in mid-2013, with the site transferred to Keiser University to become Keiser University-Latin American Campus.[48]

Ave Maria University was ranked #156-201 in National Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News & World Report in 2022-23.[49]

Ave Maria University won the 2007 'Digie Award' (Commercial Real Estate Digital Innovation Award).[52] The $24 million Oratory won the 2008 TCA Achievement Award[53] as well as an award from the American Institute of Steel Construction.[54]

The Canizaro Library holds over 215,000 volumes and over 100 online journals. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections houses over 10,000 volumes which includes Catholic Americana, leaves from Bibles from the 12th through the 20th century, the Oxford Movement and manuscript letters by John Henry Newman, the Michael Novak collection, and the Terri Schiavo case.[55] The second floor of the Canizaro Library houses the University Archives and the Canizaro Exhibit Gallery.[56]

Ave Maria University is home to a museum about the life and legacy of Mother Teresa, honored in 1979 with the Nobel Peace Prize. Artifacts include a piece of her sari, her crucifix and rosary, and letters from her and former Ave Maria University president, James Towey.[57] The Mother Teresa Museum contains an array of items on loan from the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity also provided storyboards – in Spanish and English – that include rare photographs of Mother Teresa and tell the story of her life. [58]

Interior of the parish church

Mass is celebrated on-campus in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel and off-campus in the Ave Maria Parish Church.[62] The parish serves both the town and the university. Originally owned by the university and called the Oratory, the building was purchased in January 2017 by the Diocese of Venice, and its status was raised to parish church.[63] Chapels are located in each of the six dorms, each containing a tabernacle housing the Eucharist, and each but the Mega dorm containing an altar for Mass. Members of the clergy, who live on campus, assist in maintaining spiritual life. A perpetual adoration chapel was added to the Library in 2009.[64]

Mass on campus is offered in both the Ordinary Form as well as the Extraordinary Form.[65]

Until 2022, the official news publication of Ave Maria's student body was The Daily Bulletin. Recently, the Marketing department has started sending bi-weekly event reminders to students.[66]

Campus organizations include the student activities board, student government, and more than 40 other clubs and organizations.[67] The university also offers intramural[68] and club[67] sport programs.

In 2011, Ave Maria became the first college in southwestern Florida to field a football team.[72] In the spring of 2016, the Gyrenes football team joined the Mid-South Conference (MSC) as an affiliate member.[73]

The women's lacrosse team competed in the National Women's Lacrosse League (NWLL) in their first varsity season in the spring of 2015.[74]