Belmont Abbey College is a
privatePrivate schools, also known as independent schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on public funds...
liberal-arts
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
/Catholic college located in
Belmont, North CarolinaBelmont is a city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about west of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The population was 8,705 at the 2000 census. Once known as Garibaldi, the city named in honor of August Belmont, a prominent New York banker...
, 15 miles west of
CharlotteCharlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 687,456 in 2008, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans"...
. It was founded in 1876 as
St. Mary's College by the
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks of
Belmont AbbeyBelmont Abbey is a small community of Benedictine monks in the town of Belmont, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded by Bishop Leo Haid in 1876, it is the daughter abbey to St. Vincent's Abbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and mother abbey to St. Leo's...
. It was changed to the current name in 1913. The school is affiliated with the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and the
Order of Saint BenedictThe Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
.
Accounting
Applied PsychologyThe basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law...
BiologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
Business Management
Computer Studies CIS
Criminal JusticeCriminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts....
and Security Studies
EconomicsEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
Elementary Education
Educational Studies
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
Environmental ScienceEnvironmental science is an interdisciplinary field that involves both the physical sciences and the social sciences . It encompasses the surrounding conditions that affect man and other organisms...
HistoryHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
Liberal Studies
MathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
Political SciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
PsychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
SociologySociology is the scientific or systematic study of human societies. It is a branch of social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, often with the goal of applying such...
Sports Management
TheologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
Belmont Abbey employs a
core curriculumThe Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College. It began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States...
in order to achieve its stated goal of producing well-rounded, liberally-educated students.
Belmont Abbey College is a
privatePrivate schools, also known as independent schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on public funds...
liberal-arts
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
/Catholic college located in
Belmont, North CarolinaBelmont is a city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about west of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The population was 8,705 at the 2000 census. Once known as Garibaldi, the city named in honor of August Belmont, a prominent New York banker...
, 15 miles west of
CharlotteCharlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 687,456 in 2008, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans"...
. It was founded in 1876 as
St. Mary's College by the
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks of
Belmont AbbeyBelmont Abbey is a small community of Benedictine monks in the town of Belmont, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded by Bishop Leo Haid in 1876, it is the daughter abbey to St. Vincent's Abbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and mother abbey to St. Leo's...
. It was changed to the current name in 1913. The school is affiliated with the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and the
Order of Saint BenedictThe Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
.
Majors
Accounting
Applied PsychologyThe basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law...
BiologyBiology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
Business Management
Computer Studies CIS
Criminal JusticeCriminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts....
and Security Studies
EconomicsEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
Elementary Education
Educational Studies
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
Environmental ScienceEnvironmental science is an interdisciplinary field that involves both the physical sciences and the social sciences . It encompasses the surrounding conditions that affect man and other organisms...
HistoryHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
Liberal Studies
MathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
Political SciencePolitical science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how",...
PsychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
SociologySociology is the scientific or systematic study of human societies. It is a branch of social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, often with the goal of applying such...
Sports Management
TheologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
Core curriculum
Belmont Abbey employs a
core curriculumThe Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College. It began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States...
in order to achieve its stated goal of producing well-rounded, liberally-educated students. As part of the program, all first-year students are required to take the college's introductory First Year Symposium course. Taught by professors from various fields, this course introduces and explains the theories of a
liberal educationLiberal education is education based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment....
through readings, lectures, and discussions. The course is also intended to inform students about the Rule of St. Benedict and the Benedictine Tradition.
After the freshman year, students are required to take a writing intensive course, a
social sciencesThe social sciences are the fields of scientific knowledge and academic scholarship that study social groups and, more generally, human society. The social sciences initially were constituted of five fields: Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law; Education; Health; Economy and Trade; Art...
course, a global perspectives course, a math course, a fine arts course, two
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
courses, as well as courses in
logicLogic, from the Greek λογική is the art and science of reasoning. More specifically, it is defined by the Penguin Encyclopedia to be "The formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning". As a discipline, logic dates back to Aristotle, who established its...
,
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
, and other topics.
Athletics
Belmont Abbey's athletic teams call themselves the Crusaders and participate in the
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
's
Division IIDivision II is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It offers an alternative to both the highly competitive level of intercollegiate sports offered in NCAA Division I and to the non-scholarship level offered in Division III...
program. The Crusaders are members of
Conference CarolinasConference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference , is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Conference Carolinas reached its modern incarnation in 1994. Member institutions are located in the southeastern United States in...
. Men's and women's lacrosse, women's golf, men's JV basketball and men's JV baseball were added at the start of the 2005 - 2006 academic year. Men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track and field have been added for the 2009 season. College basketball coach
Al McGuireAl McGuire coached the Marquette University men's basketball team from 1964 to 1977...
, who coached
MarquetteMarquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
to the 1977 NCAA Men's title, coached the Crusaders from 1957 to 1964 prior to becoming the head coach at Marquette. He led the Crusaders to 5 post-season tournament appearances.
Men's Sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Track and Field
Tennis
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Wrestling
JV Baseball
JV Basketball
JV Soccer
Women's Sports
Basketball
Cross Country
Track and Field
Tennis
Golf
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Volleyball
Notable alumni
- Patrick McHenry - U.S. Representative from North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
- Winder R. Harris
Winder Russell Harris was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.Born in Wake County , North Carolina, Harris attended the public schools and St...
- U.S. Representative from VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
- Robert G. Marshall
Robert G. "Bob" Marshall is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 13th District, currently serving his 7th term. His district includes portions of Prince William and Loudoun counties.He was recently a candidate for the United States Senate seat being vacated by...
- Virginia House of DelegatesThe Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
- Joseph Cryan
Joseph Cryan is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 20th legislative district....
- New Jersey General AssemblyThe New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
- Tony Suarez
Antonio Jose Suarez played for the Carolina Lightnin' in the American Soccer League . He was named Rookie of the Year in 1981 and played Forward on the first ASL All-Star Team.Suarez was born in Havana, Cuba...
- Professional Soccer player for Carolina Lightnin'The Carolina Lightnin was an American soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina that was a member of the American Soccer League. The Lightnin' played home matches at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Attendance at home games averaged 6,000 spectators...
- Nikki Hornsby
Nikki Hornsby is an American pop, Americana, country and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Teenage years:...
- Grammy voting singer songwriter guitarist recording artist & CEO of CJP-NHRecords, Inc.
- Hal Haid
Harold Augustine "Hal" Haid was a former professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of six seasons with the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox...
1919? - MLB Baseball Player
- Alex Pledger
Alex Pledger is an New Zealander professional basketball player. He is a 7 ft 1 in tall, 245 pound center...
- Professional Basketball player for New Zealand BreakersThe New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season, along with the Hunter Pirates, as one of the two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland...
Faculty health care coverage
In early December 2007 it was discovered that the Belmont Abbey College healthcare policy covered "
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
, contraception and voluntary
sterilizationSterilization can refer to:* Sterilization , an operation which renders an animal or human unable to procreate** Compulsory sterilization, where the government forces particular members of society to undergo the procedure...
." These were removed by the administration immediately after they were discovered. Following the change in policy eight faculty members filed formal complaints to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the
Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency whose goal is ending employment discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opposing...
, and the
National Women's Law CenterThe National Women's Law Center is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization founded in 1972. Through litigation and policy initiatives, the Center strives to improve the lives of women and their families in the areas of health, employment, family economic security, and education...
about the removal of contraceptive coverage, the latter threatening a lawsuit on behalf of the eight faculty members. The Abbot and the administration have stated that they have no intention of reinstating those portions of the health care plan.
The school's administration has received statements of support from Catholic news sources and other organizations
In May 2008, the student newspaper, the Belmont Abbey Crusader, published an article pointing out that the Abbey still profits from two stores on its land that sell contraceptives, including a pharmacy.
A Professor of Theology at Belmont Abbey College, is quoted as stating that the larger issue "is about the responsibility of the College as a Catholic and Benedictine institution neither to sponsor nor promote activities that the authoritative teaching of the Church considers seriously immoral."
The Abbot defended the existence of Wal-Mart and Rite Aid on Belmont Abbey land, stating that "[They] are preponderantly good operations, i.e. 99 percent or more of their business is not problematic, and the employment generation and economic stimulation they provide for the community of Belmont are worth tolerating a small amount of evil. The Abbey is not willing to lease to them because they sell contraceptives, but despite it."
External links