Introduction. St. john’s university

St. John’s University is a Roman Catholic university founded in 1870 by the Vincentian fathers of the Mission Congregation. The main campus of the institution is located on Utopia Parkway in Hillcrest, Queens. The university was formerly located in the Brooklyn borough of Bedford-Stuyvesant before being relocated to its current location. This is reflected by Rev. Donald Harrington’s description of Bedford-Stuyvesant as “...the birthplace of our university.” “St. John’s University returns to its bed-stuy roots,” writes Harney. St. John’s University has campuses in Manhattan and Staten Island, as well as one in Rome, Italy.The university is unique in its own terms in comparison to the other institutions within the boroughs of New York. Its

uniqueness is stemmed in the specific goals from which it was founded which revolve

around promoting social justice and supporting the underprivileged of the society. This

majorly influenced my decision to visit the St. John’s university campus in Queens to get an

eye opener on how this great institution interweaves and enshrines these goals into its

curriculum. In a city as big as New York it is indeed difficult to find an institution whose

entire academic belief is centered around these goals. In a world where upholding good

values is quite a challenge it was worth giving it a try to get an insight of what this university

is all about and how it does it having heard of the strides and excellence the university has

made both in academics and other extracurricular activities.

Population, accessibility and infrastructure. The large population of students of over

21000 that is inclusive of both graduate and undergraduate students might seem quite a

number when thought of in the aspect of commutance but the university already takes care of

this through its shuttle service that enables students to access Satellite houses, the subway,

and other campuses within the city of New York. This high level of accessibility through the

various diverse transport systems available at the student Fraternity’s disposal makes it

campus life easier for both resident and non-resident students. In my visit to St. John’s

University, I couldn’t help but notice the breath-taking beauty of the campus. The broad

lawns and the beautiful stone buildings only made my visit more tranquil and more

enjoyable. St. John’s University’s high tech laboratory, state of the art athletics facilities only

act as proof beyond doubt that students are getting the best in the campus not to mention the

university’s library that boasts of 1.7 million-volume in main collections.

Values and goals. The university’s main and major goal is centred around

improvement and involvement in social justice, charity and serving and to advance this goal

the institution has invested quite heavily on the academic staff which stands at around 1,195

both full time and part-time faculty members narrowing down the student to faculty ratio to

18:1. It is evident that the academic staff the institution has invested in are among the best in

America. The figures and statistics of students joining St. John’s University speak for

themselves which makes St. John’s university one of the best if not the best among catholic

colleges or Universities. In the fall of 2016, it boasted of the largest freshman number of over

3200 and in the subsequent fall of 2017 the institution received over 27000 freshman

applications from which the university was expecting to admit over 3000 students. The high

number of applications and student enrolment is quite enough evidence that the institution is

determined in advancing its goals.

The campus takes pride in the values it instils on its students through the various

Charity programs and religious activities it organises besides academics. This university in

its grandeur aims at nurturing morally upright and intelligent graduates that are mindful of

others and the society in which they live in. This is made possible by the kind of

infrastructure the university has put up as well as the courses it offers and the activities the

students undertake while studying at the campus. Through an inclusive and careful laying

out of long and short term physical planning by the department of design and planning the

university has been able to achieve a lot in terms of infrastructure. A good example is the

D’Angelo center opened on the fall of 2009 and it’s centered on improving student life

in campus. It houses state-of-the-art student centered facilities.

The ideology behind the establishment of the campus to enhance wisdom and

academic excellence is reinforced through the various research and learning facilities

available within the campus. Religious values are instilled under the mentorship and

patronage of the department of religious studies which offers a wide knowledge in the areas

of church history, interfaith studies and catechetical ministry just to mention a few.

St. John’s University as an institution has come a long way since its establishment in

1870 to an institution that it is today boasting of campuses both locally and overseas. The

gradual development of the university took careful and gradual expansion of college of

St. John the Baptist with the institution’s administration personnel bearing in mind the

priorities and strategies that will advance the college’s goal of providing education for the

underprivileged youth of the city.

Growth and planning. The university was first established as the college of St. John

the Baptist in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with St. John’s college hall as its first building.

Learning activities started in the college in 1870.Activities continued as they were until the

year 1925 when the reknowed St. John’s law school was established and this meant addition

of new buildings to accommodate the newly enrolled law students.St.john’s college was later

made a university in 1933 after other schools were built. In the year 1954 a new campus in

queens was established after the university acquired the former site of hillcrest golf club after

which the university later relocated to the new site upon which its main campus is located to

date. Other schools did not follow suit immediately because they were relocated to the new

location after some time with the last relocating in 1972.In 1959,the freedom institute became

the new addition to the university. It was established for one special purpose which are well

defined and stated in the words of Rev.John A. Flynn, the university’s president at the time

that the main focus of the institute was to specifically give “enlighten young minds on the

dangers of communism as a threat to free institutions and the need to understand the world

we live in.”(gtd, in Arpard A. Kovacs). The institute of Asian studies was also established in

the same year together with the center for African studies after the university .1

The growth of St. John’s University was possible through careful planning and step

by step addition of new buildings into the already made plan while considering aesthetics and

easing on accessibility of the institutes within the campus. This is evident in the way

buildings are located and the public space provided upon a closer look of the campus

plan. Upon entry into the campus from the main gate ample parking space is provided for

which has never been altered since the original campus plan. The law school building and the

St. John hall which are among the university’s first buildings and are located some distance

just as one enters the university through the main gate and are in close proximity. Their

location was carefully chosen to reserve more space in the rest of the university’s land to

allow for future expansion and establishment of the other buildings and public space in the

institution. The institution is divided into the lower and upper campuses with the former

constituting most of the buildings that were built later and the latter having the university’s

oldest buildings that were among the first to be built. The upper campus doesn’t incorporate

many buildings besides the first ones to reserve more parking space for the shuttle bus, the

employees and the visitors with each of the faculties in this section having as well its own

ample parking space. The good and careful planning of the original plan is also self evident

in the way the location of the halls of residence was done. They are clustered with precise and

careful arrangement just to make the area stand out as the section where the students

reside. Athletic fields and buildings are situated away from the faculty buildings and colleges

and have easy access and exit points. All these point to the fact that the later procedural

incorporation and these infrastructure to the original plan was carefully preplanned.

St. John’s University and New York. The city of New York is one of the largest and

most dynamic cities in the world. It consists of a conglomerate of people from all walks of

life; people of different cultures, beliefs, race, religions and nationalities. St. John’s

University aims at striving in this environment by instilling values and intellect through

provision of quality education by its top of the niche academic staff. The university aims at

instilling moral and religious values to its students which is one of the main pillars that form

the basis of its way of impacting knowledge. This is further cemented by the university’s

motto which states that christian education perfects the soul. The university through the wide

range of courses it offers wants to make sure that it churns out brains that are able to

favourably and fairly compete in the city of New York, the rest of the United States and all

over the world all while advancing the institution’s goal of involvement in social justice,

charity and serving.

St. John’s University is established and run on Christian values and therefore this is

kept alive through various service activities in the university that include the bread and life

program.This program is aimed at alleviating hunger and poverty in the surrounding

neighbourhoods by providing food, social services and spiritual care. The urban environment

is such a diverse and complex setting that in order to bring out all round and competent

graduates, the university provides various sporting activities besides academics. The specific

goal and aim in which this university was established makes it stand in an urban setting

where there is always rampant and widespread evidence of erosion of values.

Upon entry into St. John’s university queens one feels an air of Christianity and an

awareness of an organised environment. The vicinity is full of vibrant young minds that give

one a sense of a morally upright populace. Thanks to the institution’s goals and values on

which it was founded the students strive to use everything at their disposal that entails the

university’s infrastructure to advance these goals. The students uphold the goal of the

university of active involvement in social justice and charity through programs such as

the bread and life. Furthermore the university’s goals are not only advanced by students

through charity work but also through excellence in academics. This is evidenced by the

excellent reputation St. John’s university holds. The US News and world report ranked the

law school at number 82 nationally and the same report as well ranked the university’s online

graduate programs among the top 35 nationally. This proves that St. John’s University is

among the best in the nation as it was further referred to by The Princeton review in its 2014

guide to ”The Best 378 Colleges” as one of the best for the tenth consecutive time. The

university also boasts of well performing teams in athletics that have competed in various

major tournaments nationally.

Conclusion. From my observation and the knowledge I have gained in visiting the

institution, I can truly say that St. John’s university (Queens) is truly a university of

difference. It has stood and braved the test of time and tide of this ever changing world to

gain the stature of a globally reknowed university that has excelled in many areas. Its success

is as a result of its endeavour to achieve its goals and the fulfil the mission on which the

university was founded on.

Endnotes

Establishment of the institute of Asian studies and the center for African

studies was made possible after the university hired Dr.Paul Kwan-Tsieh Sih

Works cited

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Harney, James. ”St. John’s University returns to bed-stuy roots” New York daily news. New

York daily news. 8 June 1995.4 Nov. 2017.

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”College profile: St. John’s university Queens” College data website. College data. Web.

4 Nov. 2017.

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Kovacs, Arpard Francis, St. John’s University press, 1960.Print.

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4 Nov.2017

”St. John’s School of Law Rises 25 Spots on the 2016 U.S. News List of Best Law Schools”

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