This article is about the university in Pennsylvania.
For the university in Illinois, see Robert Morris University
.
Robert Morris University
(RMU) is a private, coeducational university in suburban Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
. Founded in 1921, the school was named for
Robert Morris, who signed
the Declaration of Independence and helped finance the ensuing war
with the British.
Robert Morris' sports teams, nicknamed "the Colonials ", use the
school colors of blue and white. The Colonials compete in
NCAA Division I
(
FCS, formerly
Division I-AA, in football).
History
Robert Morris University originated in 1921 as the Pittsburgh
School of Accountancy. Andrew Blass established the school in
response to what he saw as a shortage of accountants in the local
economy.
In 1962
the school purchased 230 acres in Moon Township,
Pennsylvania
: ( the site of its campus.) The Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania then granted the school permission to award associate
degrees, and the school became Robert Morris Junior
College.
Prior to 2002, the university used the name "Robert Morris
College".
However, it is not affiliated with Robert
Morris College in Chicago
, Illinois
.
The
Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools accredits Robert Morris
University. enrollment is approximately 5,000 undergraduate and
graduate students.
On
May 20,
2005,
University officials announced the selection of Gregory G.
Dell'Omo,
an administrator at St. Joseph's University
, to replace long-time president Edward
Nicholson. Dell'Omo was installed as president on
August 1,
2005.
Academics
RMU offers 60 undergraduate and 20 graduate degree programs.
The core
campus consists of a 230-acre (931,000 m²) tract in Moon
Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh
(near Pittsburgh International
Airport
), and the school maintains a satellite campus in
downtown
Pittsburgh
, on Fifth Avenue near the Allegheny
County Courthouse
.
The university consists of five academic schools
- the School of Business offers undergraduate and graduate degree
programs, which are AACSB accredited
- the School of Education and Social Sciences offers
undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs
- the School of Nursing and Health Sciences offers undergraduate
and graduate degree programs
- the School of Communications and Information Systems offers
undergraduate (ABET accredited), graduate, and doctoral degree
programs
- the
School of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science offers
undergraduate degree programs, including ABET-accredited
engineering programs, and one graduate program
RMU also functions as a provider institution for the Online
Consortium of Independent Colleges and Universities (OCICU).
Men's and Women's Basketball
Both the Men's and Women's teams participate in the
Northeast Conference.
The Men's team has played in six NCAA Tournaments, losing in the
Round of 64 each time:
In 1983, they won their only NCAA Tournament game, a "Play-In" game
against Georgia Southern.
In recent
years, both the Men's and Women's teams have had success in their
conference, with the Women's
team winning the NEC Championship in 2008 and making an appearance
in the NCAA
Tournament, only to bow out in the first round to Rutgers
, while the Men's team qualified for the NIT.
The men's team won the 2009 NEC Championship, beating Mount St.
Mary's 48-46. With the win, the school qualified for the
2009 NCAA Men's
Division I Basketball Tournament, their sixth trip to the
tournament.
Other Athletics
Robert Morris Colonials logo
The men's and women's ice hockey teams are members of the
College Hockey America conference,
while all other sports are sponsored by the
Northeast Conference, with the
exception of the Men's lacrosse team (members of the CAA) and
women's rowing, which is independent.
Robert Morris also has a widely respected bowling team, as they
have produced several well known professional bowlers and also were
the 2007 National Runner-Ups.
The Men's
and Women's basketball teams play in the Sewall Center and the
football and lacrosse teams play in Joe Walton Stadium
. The school's soccer teams both play on the
North Athletic Complex, and the hockey teams play their games at
the Clearview Arena, a part of the Neville Island
Sports Complex, just down the road from the
campus.
On February 14, 2009, the Men's lacrosse team defeated Penn State
12-11 in double overtime in the program's biggest victory at Joe
Walton Stadium.
Notable alumni
Facts
- Former professional hockey-player and actor David Hanson currently manages
RMU's Island Sports Complex.
External links
Footnotes