Saint John Fisher College
Encyclopedia
St. John Fisher
College is a private
liberal arts college
located in Pittsford, New York
, United States
, an eastern suburb of Rochester
. Fisher is ranked by U.S. News & World Report
among the "Tier 1" Northern Master's Universities, while U.S News rates admissions to the College as "selective."
and with the aid of Father James E. Kearney
, then the Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
. In 1968, the College became independent from the Catholic Church, and coeducational in 1971. Recently, the university has experienced a large increase in on-campus housing, student enrollment, new facilities, and the establishment of both the Wegmans School of Nursing, and The Wegmans School of Pharmacy. In 2008, the New York State budget provided St. John Fisher College with a $2 million grant to explore the feasibility of opening a law school in downtown Rochester.
Fisher offers 32 undergraduate majors, 12 master's programs, and 3 doctoral programs. The five most popular majors at Fisher are as follows: 24% education; 23% business, management, marketing, and related support services; 11% communication/journalism and related programs; 8% psychology; and 6% social sciences.
The programs of the School of Arts and Sciences, serving both as a foundational component of the St. John Fisher College educational experience and as fields of specialized study, cultivate intellectual and ethical judgment and habits of thinking that prepare students to lead lives of integrity and thoughtful engagement in both the public and private spheres.
The School is striving to provide an environment characterized by respect for individual potential, high expectations, and open and critical inquiry by applying the following guiding principles:
The School of Arts and Sciences provides educational experiences that are rooted in the liberal arts
and that prepare students to lead lives of intellectual professional and civic integrity. This is accomplished by:
The school offers undergraduate degrees (BA or BS depending on content area) in Adolescence Education (7-12), Adolescence Education/Special Education (7-12), Childhood Education (1-6), and Childhood Education/Special Education (1-6). It also offers a Master's degree (MSEd.) and initial certification program for those four areas. Teachers already holding initial certification can earn graduate degrees (MSEd.) and professional certification in Literacy Education (B-6 and 5-12), Library Media (Teacher Librarian), Special Education, Educational Leadership and Mathematics/Science/Technology Education as well as an accelerated Doctorate in Executive Leadership(Ed.D.) from the School of Education. The school is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The School of Education is active in numerous community outreach programs. Among these are a literacy center that provides tutoring and small group instruction in literacy for elementary through high school students. The School of Education works closely with local school districts including the Rochester City School District which hosts a number of Professional Development Sites (PDS) where practicing teachers and pre-service teachers work alongside education faculty to develop best practices. The School of Education hosts Preschool College in which preschoolers and their parents are invited to a day of activities at the College in order to encourage families to see college as a viable option for their children.
The School of Education is named after Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., the founder, owner, and president of the NFL's Buffalo Bills
. Mr. Wilson and his family have been long-time supporters of St. John Fisher College.
The Bittner MBA
Programs are designed for individuals with passion and focus. Individuals who know where they want to go, and can’t wait to get there. The Bittner School of Business offers 6 concentrations for the MBA: Accounting, General Management, Global Context, Health Services Management, Human Resource Development, and Pharmaceutical Industry.
The MBA program examines real life problems that business executives grapple with on a daily basis, so that students are able to develop informed, creative, strategic and integrated perspectives necessary to take on a lifetime of leadership challenges.
Building on a strong liberal arts foundation, College’s Accounting, Corporate Finance, Management, and Marketing undergraduate programs have provided students with a comprehensive and well-rounded education in their respective areas of specialization since the very beginning’s of the institution’s history.
A significant milestone in the history of Fisher’s business programs has been their accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business ("AACSB International") which is recognized as the hallmark of excellence in management education. At the time this accreditation was gained, all business programs at the College were brought together in 2003 to form St. John Fisher College’s first professional school which was named the Bittner School of Business.
Fisher has also added a lot of supplemental graduate degrees that apply nicely to the Business majors. With graduate degrees in International Studies and its MBA program, Fisher is giving students an opportunity to truly be competitive in whatever fields its graduates choose.
is one of five pharmacy schools in New York State and is the first pharmacy school in the Greater Rochester community. The School of Pharmacy awards a Doctor of Pharmacy
Degree (Pharm.D.) to candidates who successfully complete four years of professional study. Two years (64 semester hours) of pre-professional education is required for admission, followed by four years of professional studies. The school became fully accredited in May 2010.
The School was made possible by a $5 million gift by the late Robert Wegman
, who served for many years as president of Wegmans Food Markets
. The Wegmans School of Pharmacy opened in fall 2006. The school currently enrolls 190 professional students. The School also boasts an extensive Drug Information Center (DIC), recognized as possibly the largest DIC in the Northeastern United States. Students can be found using the DIC at all hours of the day and night.
offers professional programs of study that prepare baccalaureate and master's degree graduates to positively influence health outcomes for culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities in a rapidly changing, highly complex health care environment.
Fisher’s nursing program is fully accredited by the New York State Education Department
and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
.
The Wegmans School of Nursing is also named after Robert Wegman, who contributed $8 million to the College to create the School of Nursing.
s are awarded to incoming freshman, including the Service Scholarship and First Generation Scholarship.
Division III level, and is a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference
(ECAC) and the Empire 8
. The College's mascot is the Cardinal
.
Men compete at the varsity level in baseball
, basketball
, football
, golf
, lacrosse
, soccer, and tennis
. Women compete at the varsity level in basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball
, tennis, and volleyball
. Beginning with the fall 2011 season, men will compete in cross-country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field. Women will compete in cross-country, field hockey, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
The St. John Fisher Women's Lacrosse team won the Empire 8 conference championships in both 2007 and 2009. Also in 2009 the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history.
Fisher offers some of the top athletic facilities in the state. Growney Stadium is home for Fisher's football, soccer and lacrosse teams. The stadium's all-weather playing field extends the outdoor sports season through the winter with lighting and a 2,100 seat grandstand. The student Life Center boasts a new 19000 square feet (1,765.2 m²) addition, which houses team locker rooms training rooms and fitness facilities. The field house now has an all purpose floor with four module courts that can be used for a variety of sports. There are six remodeled racquetball courts, a sauna and a whirlpool in the Student Life Center, as well as the Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium, which features a new parquet floor. Dugan Yard is Fisher's baseball field, is one of the finest collegiate facilities in the state. Other outdoor facilities include: four tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course, a cross country course, two regulation sized practice fields which serve as the home rugby fields and a new softball diamond.
In 2010, the Polisseni Foundation donated $3 million for the construction of the Polisseni Track and Field Complex at the College. The complex includes an eight-lane, 400 meter competition track with grass infield and bleacher seating for approximately 1,000 people, with locker rooms for student-athletes and public restrooms.
St. John Fisher College is a founding member of the Empire 8
Athletic Association and competes with other full member schools: Alfred University
, Elmira College
, Hartwick College
, Ithaca College
, Nazareth College
, Rochester Institute of Technology
, Stevens Institute of Technology
, and Utica College
. The Empire 8
also has affiliate members in football (Springfield College
) and field hockey (Washington & Jefferson College
).
In 2006, Fisher's football team had the best season in the program's 20-year history. The Cardinals finished the season with a 12-2 record overall and shared the Empire 8
Conference title. Fisher received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they defeated Union College
, Springfield College, and Rowan University
to reach the national semifinals where they lost to Mount Union College
, the defending national champions, by a score of 26-14.
In 2007, Fisher's men's basketball team won the Empire 8
Conference title for the 5th consecutive year and the 6th time in seven years. In 2006, Fisher advanced to the "Elite 8"
of the NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship
Tournament.
The women's basketball program was led for 34 seasons by Phil Kahler, who posted a career record of 797 wins (the most in Division III history) and 175 losses with a career winning percentage of .821. Under Kahler, the women's basketball program reached the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament 14 times and played in the NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship
game in 1988 and 1990. Kahler retired shortly before the start of the 2008-09 basketball season and was replaced on the bench by Marianne O'Connor Ermi, his top assistant coach for 20 seasons.
Fisher also offers the following other club sports: men's hockey, cheerleading, karate and rugby. Both the men's and women's rugby clubs have enjoyed success, with the men's rugby club earning a New York State Championship in 1999, and both teams having won numerous tournament titles. The club hockey team achieved success in 2006-07, winning the Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League championship.
' NFL
annual summer training camp. Training camp at Fisher is considered one of the best in the NFL and attracts a wide range of fans from the northeast and Canada
. In addition to the Bills players and coaches, the camp features numerous attractions for all ages. The camp is free and open to the public, except for night practices.
, Inc. This project funds a trip to Florida for the children of Camp Good Days. The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), an organization composed of the 1% of resident student leaders, has a commitment to service, as well as recognition, leadership, and knowledge. In 2008, a student-run integrated marketing firm was established - [PRIMA Connections]. Fisher's Office of Campus Life organizes activities for students.
John Fisher
Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
College is a private
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
liberal arts college
Liberal arts college
A liberal arts college is one with a primary emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences.Students in the liberal arts generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including sciences as well as the traditional...
located in Pittsford, New York
Pittsford (town), New York
Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States and is an affluent suburb of Rochester. The population was 29,405 at the 2010 census....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, an eastern suburb of Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. Fisher is ranked by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
among the "Tier 1" Northern Master's Universities, while U.S News rates admissions to the College as "selective."
History
St. John Fisher College was founded as a men's college in 1948 by the Basilian FathersCongregation of St. Basil
The Basilian Fathers, also known as The Congregation of Saint Basil, is an international order of Catholic priests and students studying for the priesthood, who focus on education and ministering through oratories....
and with the aid of Father James E. Kearney
James E. Kearney
James Edward Kearney was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Salt Lake City and Bishop of Rochester .-Biography:...
, then the Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the Greater Rochester region of New York State in the United States. The region that the Diocese comprises extends from its northern border on the south shore of Lake Ontario through the Finger Lakes region to its...
. In 1968, the College became independent from the Catholic Church, and coeducational in 1971. Recently, the university has experienced a large increase in on-campus housing, student enrollment, new facilities, and the establishment of both the Wegmans School of Nursing, and The Wegmans School of Pharmacy. In 2008, the New York State budget provided St. John Fisher College with a $2 million grant to explore the feasibility of opening a law school in downtown Rochester.
Academics
St. John Fisher College is made up of the following five schools:- The School of Arts and Sciences
- The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education
- The Bittner School of Business
- The Wegmans School of Pharmacy
- The Wegmans School of Nursing
Fisher offers 32 undergraduate majors, 12 master's programs, and 3 doctoral programs. The five most popular majors at Fisher are as follows: 24% education; 23% business, management, marketing, and related support services; 11% communication/journalism and related programs; 8% psychology; and 6% social sciences.
School of Arts and Sciences
The School of Arts and Science is the largest school within St. John Fisher College and characterized by its ample degree programs and departments. It offers degrees and minors in over 20 undergraduate academic disciplines. http://www.sjfc.edu/academics/arts-scienceThe programs of the School of Arts and Sciences, serving both as a foundational component of the St. John Fisher College educational experience and as fields of specialized study, cultivate intellectual and ethical judgment and habits of thinking that prepare students to lead lives of integrity and thoughtful engagement in both the public and private spheres.
The School is striving to provide an environment characterized by respect for individual potential, high expectations, and open and critical inquiry by applying the following guiding principles:
- Study in the Arts and Sciences is both pragmatic and enlightening.
- Engagement in the community and application of knowledge are essential to the development of the capacity for critical inquiry.
- Faculty members and students are jointly responsible for the educational experience, a collaboration guided by the words of William Butler Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.”
- Teaching, scholarship, and learning are enriched in an environment that encourages intellectual curiosity and explores social justice.
The School of Arts and Sciences provides educational experiences that are rooted in the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
and that prepare students to lead lives of intellectual professional and civic integrity. This is accomplished by:
- Providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to develop proficiency in one or more of the major fields of study housed in the School
- Providing undergraduate students opportunities to develop in-depth knowledge in a field of study outside of the major through the pursuit of a minor
- Providing an educational foundation for all undergraduate students through a core curriculum that is intentional and reflective of the breadth of perspectives that characterizes the liberal artsLiberal artsThe term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
at St John Fisher College - Promoting the engagement of students, faculty members, and professional staff within a learning environment that creates high expectations along with the support for all to achieve their full potential.
Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education
The mission of the School of Education at St. John Fisher College is to provide a quality educational experience that prepares candidates for distinguished careers in their chosen profession and for leadership roles in a diverse, rapidly changing and increasingly technological society. To this end, we seek to:- Prepare highly capable and ethically responsible professional educators who are committed to improving educational conditions, opportunities and outcomes for all students.
- Prepare candidates who share the belief that all students can and will learn.
- Prepare candidates who understand educational theory, research, best practices and the use of various technologies, and how to apply this knowledge in diverse school settings and communities.
- Prepare candidates to meet college, state and national standards and requirements for graduation and certification.
The school offers undergraduate degrees (BA or BS depending on content area) in Adolescence Education (7-12), Adolescence Education/Special Education (7-12), Childhood Education (1-6), and Childhood Education/Special Education (1-6). It also offers a Master's degree (MSEd.) and initial certification program for those four areas. Teachers already holding initial certification can earn graduate degrees (MSEd.) and professional certification in Literacy Education (B-6 and 5-12), Library Media (Teacher Librarian), Special Education, Educational Leadership and Mathematics/Science/Technology Education as well as an accelerated Doctorate in Executive Leadership(Ed.D.) from the School of Education. The school is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The School of Education is active in numerous community outreach programs. Among these are a literacy center that provides tutoring and small group instruction in literacy for elementary through high school students. The School of Education works closely with local school districts including the Rochester City School District which hosts a number of Professional Development Sites (PDS) where practicing teachers and pre-service teachers work alongside education faculty to develop best practices. The School of Education hosts Preschool College in which preschoolers and their parents are invited to a day of activities at the College in order to encourage families to see college as a viable option for their children.
The School of Education is named after Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., the founder, owner, and president of the NFL's Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Mr. Wilson and his family have been long-time supporters of St. John Fisher College.
Bittner School of Business
The Bittner School of Business prepares professionally competent and ethically responsible graduates for careers as managers and professionals primarily for local and regional business. The school emphasizes excellence in teaching, close interaction with students, and recognizes that excellent teaching is informed by faculty actively engaged in research and scholarship. The faculty members produce research published in peer reviewed journals, and other recognized outlets for intellectual contribution that advances the scholarship of teaching, business practice and disciplinary knowledge.The Bittner MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
Programs are designed for individuals with passion and focus. Individuals who know where they want to go, and can’t wait to get there. The Bittner School of Business offers 6 concentrations for the MBA: Accounting, General Management, Global Context, Health Services Management, Human Resource Development, and Pharmaceutical Industry.
The MBA program examines real life problems that business executives grapple with on a daily basis, so that students are able to develop informed, creative, strategic and integrated perspectives necessary to take on a lifetime of leadership challenges.
Building on a strong liberal arts foundation, College’s Accounting, Corporate Finance, Management, and Marketing undergraduate programs have provided students with a comprehensive and well-rounded education in their respective areas of specialization since the very beginning’s of the institution’s history.
A significant milestone in the history of Fisher’s business programs has been their accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business ("AACSB International") which is recognized as the hallmark of excellence in management education. At the time this accreditation was gained, all business programs at the College were brought together in 2003 to form St. John Fisher College’s first professional school which was named the Bittner School of Business.
Fisher has also added a lot of supplemental graduate degrees that apply nicely to the Business majors. With graduate degrees in International Studies and its MBA program, Fisher is giving students an opportunity to truly be competitive in whatever fields its graduates choose.
Wegmans School of Pharmacy
The Wegmans School of PharmacyPharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
is one of five pharmacy schools in New York State and is the first pharmacy school in the Greater Rochester community. The School of Pharmacy awards a Doctor of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy
A Doctor of Pharmacy is a professional doctorate degree in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a first professional degree, and a prerequisite for licensing to exercise the profession of pharmacist.-Kenya :...
Degree (Pharm.D.) to candidates who successfully complete four years of professional study. Two years (64 semester hours) of pre-professional education is required for admission, followed by four years of professional studies. The school became fully accredited in May 2010.
The School was made possible by a $5 million gift by the late Robert Wegman
Robert Wegman
Robert Wegman was a pioneer of the one-stop shopping concept. He was the son of Wegmans Food Markets co-founder Walter Wegman. Until his death in 2006 at age 87, he was the chairperson for Wegmans...
, who served for many years as president of Wegmans Food Markets
Wegmans Food Markets
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a family-owned U.S. regional supermarket chain headquartered in Gates, New York, near Rochester. Wegmans has more than 75 stores spread across the mid-Atlantic region, in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts...
. The Wegmans School of Pharmacy opened in fall 2006. The school currently enrolls 190 professional students. The School also boasts an extensive Drug Information Center (DIC), recognized as possibly the largest DIC in the Northeastern United States. Students can be found using the DIC at all hours of the day and night.
Wegmans School of Nursing
The Wegmans School of NursingNursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
offers professional programs of study that prepare baccalaureate and master's degree graduates to positively influence health outcomes for culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities in a rapidly changing, highly complex health care environment.
Fisher’s nursing program is fully accredited by the New York State Education Department
New York State Education Department
The New York State Education Department is the state education department in New York. It is part of the University of the State of New York , one of the most complete, interconnected systems of educational services in the United States...
and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is an autonomous nursing education accrediting agency that contributes to the improvement of the public's health. The CCNE is recognized by the U.S...
.
The Wegmans School of Nursing is also named after Robert Wegman, who contributed $8 million to the College to create the School of Nursing.
Scholarships
Nearly 100% of first-year students receive some form of financial assistance. Need-based and merit-based scholarships, as well as grants, loans, and part-time employment, are available for eligible students. Two unique scholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s are awarded to incoming freshman, including the Service Scholarship and First Generation Scholarship.
Athletics
St. John Fisher College competes at the NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division III level, and is a member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
(ECAC) and the Empire 8
Empire 8
The Empire 8 is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III.-Members:Full member institutions include:-Football affiliation:*Springfield College...
. The College's mascot is the Cardinal
Cardinal (bird)
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....
.
Men compete at the varsity level in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, soccer, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. Women compete at the varsity level in basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, tennis, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. Beginning with the fall 2011 season, men will compete in cross-country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field. Women will compete in cross-country, field hockey, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
The St. John Fisher Women's Lacrosse team won the Empire 8 conference championships in both 2007 and 2009. Also in 2009 the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history.
Fisher offers some of the top athletic facilities in the state. Growney Stadium is home for Fisher's football, soccer and lacrosse teams. The stadium's all-weather playing field extends the outdoor sports season through the winter with lighting and a 2,100 seat grandstand. The student Life Center boasts a new 19000 square feet (1,765.2 m²) addition, which houses team locker rooms training rooms and fitness facilities. The field house now has an all purpose floor with four module courts that can be used for a variety of sports. There are six remodeled racquetball courts, a sauna and a whirlpool in the Student Life Center, as well as the Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium, which features a new parquet floor. Dugan Yard is Fisher's baseball field, is one of the finest collegiate facilities in the state. Other outdoor facilities include: four tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course, a cross country course, two regulation sized practice fields which serve as the home rugby fields and a new softball diamond.
In 2010, the Polisseni Foundation donated $3 million for the construction of the Polisseni Track and Field Complex at the College. The complex includes an eight-lane, 400 meter competition track with grass infield and bleacher seating for approximately 1,000 people, with locker rooms for student-athletes and public restrooms.
St. John Fisher College is a founding member of the Empire 8
Empire 8
The Empire 8 is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III.-Members:Full member institutions include:-Football affiliation:*Springfield College...
Athletic Association and competes with other full member schools: Alfred University
Alfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
, Elmira College
Elmira College
Elmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
, Hartwick College
Hartwick College
Hartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
, Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
, Nazareth College
Nazareth College (New York)
Nazareth College of Rochester, NY, is a private liberal arts college in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester.-History:Nazareth was founded in 1924 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The first class, comprising 25 young women, began their studies in a large mansion on Lake Avenue in Rochester, New...
, Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
, Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
, and Utica College
Utica College
Utica College is a private university located in Utica, New York. The history of the college dates back to the 1930s when Syracuse University began offering extension courses in the Utica area. Syracuse University established Utica College as a four-year institution in 1946, and in 1995, UC ...
. The Empire 8
Empire 8
The Empire 8 is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III.-Members:Full member institutions include:-Football affiliation:*Springfield College...
also has affiliate members in football (Springfield College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
) and field hockey (Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
).
In 2006, Fisher's football team had the best season in the program's 20-year history. The Cardinals finished the season with a 12-2 record overall and shared the Empire 8
Empire 8
The Empire 8 is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III.-Members:Full member institutions include:-Football affiliation:*Springfield College...
Conference title. Fisher received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, where they defeated Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
, Springfield College, and Rowan University
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public university in Glassboro, New Jersey, USA with a satellite campus in Camden, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a twenty-five acre tract of land donated by the town...
to reach the national semifinals where they lost to Mount Union College
Mount Union College
The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
, the defending national champions, by a score of 26-14.
In 2007, Fisher's men's basketball team won the Empire 8
Empire 8
The Empire 8 is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III.-Members:Full member institutions include:-Football affiliation:*Springfield College...
Conference title for the 5th consecutive year and the 6th time in seven years. In 2006, Fisher advanced to the "Elite 8"
Elite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
of the NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship
The NCAA holds an annual tournament to determine the Division III Men's Basketball Championship.Since 1996, the Division III men's basketball championship has been held at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. The event has been hosted by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the City of...
Tournament.
The women's basketball program was led for 34 seasons by Phil Kahler, who posted a career record of 797 wins (the most in Division III history) and 175 losses with a career winning percentage of .821. Under Kahler, the women's basketball program reached the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament 14 times and played in the NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship
NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship
-Past winners of the NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship:-See also:*NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship*NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship*NAIA national women's basketball championship-References:...
game in 1988 and 1990. Kahler retired shortly before the start of the 2008-09 basketball season and was replaced on the bench by Marianne O'Connor Ermi, his top assistant coach for 20 seasons.
Fisher also offers the following other club sports: men's hockey, cheerleading, karate and rugby. Both the men's and women's rugby clubs have enjoyed success, with the men's rugby club earning a New York State Championship in 1999, and both teams having won numerous tournament titles. The club hockey team achieved success in 2006-07, winning the Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League championship.
Buffalo Bills Training Camp
Since 2000, St. John Fisher College has been home to the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
annual summer training camp. Training camp at Fisher is considered one of the best in the NFL and attracts a wide range of fans from the northeast and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In addition to the Bills players and coaches, the camp features numerous attractions for all ages. The camp is free and open to the public, except for night practices.
Student life
Students may choose from a wide-range of campus clubs and organizations. Four of the major organizations on campus include the Student Government Association (SGA), the Student Activities Board (SAB), the Resident Student Association (RSA), and Commuter Council. Other clubs include music groups, language clubs, cultural organizations, student publications, and intramural sports. Many academic departments also sponsor academic clubs. Students may also be involved in planning the end of the year concert though the Spring Event Committee. Fisher students can contribute to the community through a variety of service organizations and projects, including Students With a Vision (SWAV), and a group that has traveled to New Orleans during Spring Break to assist in the city's reconstruction. The Annual Teddi Dance for Love is a 24-hour dance marathon started by Lou Bettino in 1983 that benefits Camp Good Days and Special TimesCamp Good Days and Special Times
Camp Good Days and Special Times, commonly called "Camp Good Days", is a residential summer camp which provides summer camping experiences for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges...
, Inc. This project funds a trip to Florida for the children of Camp Good Days. The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), an organization composed of the 1% of resident student leaders, has a commitment to service, as well as recognition, leadership, and knowledge. In 2008, a student-run integrated marketing firm was established - [PRIMA Connections]. Fisher's Office of Campus Life organizes activities for students.