Webster University

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Webster University is located in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College, and it was one of the first Catholic women's colleges located west of the Mississippi River. The first male students were admitted in 1962. The Sisters of Loretto transferred the university to a Board of Directors in 1967. The current president of the university is Richard Meyers.

Webster has many campuses nationwide, located on military bases and in many metropolitan areas. There are also international campuses in Geneva, Switzerland, Vienna, Austria; Leiden, The Netherlands; London, UK; Hamilton, Bermuda; Shanghai, China; and Cha-am, Thailand.

Webster has about 5,000 enrolled students at the main campus in Webster Groves and 15,000 worldwide.

The university's mascot is the Gorlok. It was created by students in 1984 and is said to have "the paws of a speeding cheetah, horns of a fierce buffalo, and the face of a dependable Saint Bernard." Gore and Lockwood is a prominent intersection in the business area of Webster Groves where the headquarters is located. The Gorloks compete in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Webster's Loretto-Hilton Center is home to The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. It also hosts the Webster Film Festival.

Special Recognition

Webster University faculty credentials, academic standing, and commitment to excellence have been widely recognized. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Webster in the top tier of Midwestern universities in its category. In 2002 Webster was recognized for its outstanding contributions to military education by the Council of College and Military Educators. Money Magazine rated Webster University as one of the ten best commuter colleges in the United States.

With the opening of the Shanghai campus in 1996, Webster University became the first American university approved by the Chinese government to offer the M.B.A. in China. Webster is ranked as having one of the highest graduate business enrollments in the United States by AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Still operated by a board of trustees --- of which NBC sportscaster Bob Costas is perhaps the most recognizable member --- the international university structures its programs to ensure that each student's education is a successful blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. Webster is dedicated to academic excellence and innovation to meet the needs of students, businesses, and working adults. Faculty members bring the best of both worlds to the classroom---an ideal blend of academic credentials and career experience in the subjects they teach. A part of Webster's mission is to extend and enhance teaching in order to educate students to be lifelong, independent learners in an ever-changing international environment.

A Few Notable Webster Graduates:

1. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono- President Of Indonesia

2. Ann Walsh Bradley- Wisconsin Supreme Court

3. Norbert Leo Butz- Tony Award Winner

4. Eileen Collins- Legendary Astronaut/Air Force Colonel

5. Thomas R. Wilson- Navy Admiral

6. Sheila Baxter- Army General

7. Marsha Mason- Actress

8. Jerry Mitchell- Tony Award Winner

9. Mary Ann Wyrsch- United Nations

10. Erin Bode - Musician

11. William Kowba- Navy Admiral

12. Antonio Taguba- Army General (The Taguba Report- Led Probe of Abu Ghraib)

13. Joe Mokwa- Chief of Police, St. Louis, MO

14. Clarence Harmon- Former Mayor/Chief of Police, St. Louis, MO

15. Hugo Blackwood- Navy Admiral

16. Jessica L. Wright- Army General

17. Sidney M. Gutierrez- U.S. Astronaut

18. Dr. Linda M. Woolf- Historian/Professor of Psychology

19. Bruce Carlson- Air Force General

20. Carrol H. Chandler- Air Force General

21. George N. Williams- Air Force General

22. Richard Newton- Air Force General

23. Teresa Peterson- Air Force General

24. Dennis D. Cavin- Army General

25. Bryan Brown- Army General- Commander of all U.S. Special Forces

26. Lloyd James Austin III- Army General

27. Jeffrey D. Sams- Actor

28. William Broad- Reporter/Pulitzer Prize Winner

(Know of any notable Webster Graduates not on the list? Feel free to add names)

[Summary About Webster]

[A Brief History] of Webster University.

Integration at Webster University

The local chapter of the Midwest Clergy Conference on Negro Welfare attempted to integrate Webster in 1943, but St. Louis Archbishop John J. Glennon blocked the enrollment of a young black woman by speaking directly with the superior of the Sisters of Loretto in Kentucky. The Pittsburgh Courier, a national black newspaper, ran a front-page feature on the Webster incident. After Glennon's death in 1946, the new St. Louis Archbishop, Joseph E. Ritter, moved swiftly to remove barriers to the integration of the city's Catholic educational institutions.

External links

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