Barry University

Summary

Barry University is a private, Catholic university, which was founded in 1940 in Miami Shores, Florida, United States, a suburb north of Downtown Miami. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.

Barry offers business, nursing, health sciences, teacher education, and liberal arts programs. It currently has more than 9,300 students, a faculty of 871, a campus of 54 buildings, and 39,922 alumni.[2] Student to faculty ratio is 14:1.[3]

History

Initially, Barry was a women's Catholic college. The construction of what was then the Barry College for Women began in 1940, in what had previously been "a tract of tropical vegetation." [4] The empty lot was soon transformed into the main campus, in Miami Shores, FL. The original campus consisted of five buildings. The college was named for Mother Mary Gerald Barry. She served as president from 1940-1961.[2]

Barry College became Barry University on November 13, 1981.

The university has had six Adrian Dominican Sisters serve as president since its inception: Mother M. Gerald Barry,[5] 1940-1961; Mother M. Genevieve Weber, 1962–1963; Sister M. Dorothy Browne, 1963–1974; Sister M. Trinita Flood, 1974–1981; Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, 1981–2004; and Sister Linda Bevilacqua, OP, PhD, 2004–present. The mother house of the sisters is in Adrian, Michigan.[4]

The Cor Jesu ("Heart of Jesus") Chapel is intended to be the spiritual and physical heart of the campus.[6] It was financed with the aid of Margaret Brady Farrell, a parishioner of St. Patrick's Church in Miami Beach. Soon after discovering that the construction of the Cor Jesu was postponed[when?] due to insufficient funds, Farrel donated all the funds needed for completion the chapel's construction. In her honor, the Division of Business and Finance building was dedicated as "Farrell House." [7] The chapel is topped by an 80-foot (24 m) tower holding carillon chimes. It seats 500 persons.[6] Traces of Romanesque architecture can be seen in the inside of the chapel which "was built in choir style with wood wainscoting and a canopy over the altar."[6] A stained glass window of amber color, containing the image of a Celtic cross, is visible from the main entrance of the campus.

Facilities

Barry University's main campus is in Miami Shores, Florida. While the main campus is in Miami Shores, Barry University offers several continuing adult education classes at other locations in Florida.[8] Barry University has a campus in Orlando that houses the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law and a campus in Saint Petersburg that houses the second branch of its Physician Assistant Program.

There are 40 buildings at the Miami Shores campus. These contain technology laboratories and indoor and outdoor sporting facilities.[4]

The Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library contains more than 710,000 items, including 2,600 periodical titles, 5,000 audiovisual items, 150 electronic databases, and an "excellent Catholic American collection."[9] The library also contains a collection of documents pertaining to Operation Pedro Pan.[9]

While Barry University is primarily a liberal arts college, the university has expanded its programs of study to include specialized programs in nursing, teacher education, medical technology, and social work.

Barry began graduate programs for men and women in 1954, a continuing education program in 1974, a school of business in 1976, a division of biological and biomedical sciences in 1983, and a school of podiatric medicine in fall 1985.[4]

In 1999, the Barry University School of Law was established in Orlando, Florida. Barry University's law school is named the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law.[10]

Academics

Barry University "offers more than 60 traditional undergraduate programs, accelerated bachelor's programs designed specifically for working adults, and more than 50 graduate programs (many of these with evening/weekend classes)" [11] in 9 schools. Student to faculty ratio is 14:1.[3]

Barry's mission is as follows:[3]

Students are expected to:

In its 2011 Edition of America's Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report Barry University remained as unranked for academic quality and as a second tier university.[clarification needed][14] For the sixth year in a row, U.S. News and World Report 2006 Best Colleges Edition ranked Barry as number one for campus diversity among schools of its size in the South. Students are drawn from 49 states and 80 countries. [11]

Student activities

Barry University became a member of the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) in June 1988.

"The SSC sponsors championships in 14 sports for men and women: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women's golf, rowing, men’s and women's soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball." [15]

"Sunshine State Conference teams have won NCAA Division II national championships in baseball, men’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, volleyball, and men’s and women’s tennis. SSC teams are also nationally recognized in rowing."[16]

Furthermore the athletics department at Barry University follows the university's mission in "acknowledges the presence of God through wholesome and clean competition, comradeship among participants, good sportsmanship, and equality of opportunity exclusive of one's sex, race, or religious affiliation. A caring environment is provided by assuring the academic, physical, and emotional well-being of our student-athletes through the leadership provided by a well-qualified teaching/professional staff, academic support services, comprehensive health care and coverage, and safe playing and practice conditions."[15]

Barry has many student organizations, fraternities and sororities, and honor societies, including student government.

The Barry Buccaneer is the student newspaper, ranging from 8 to 16 pages and published at the first of every month starting in September and ending in May. The Buccaneer serves as a laboratory for journalism minors. All work, including writing, editing, advertising and design, is completed by students.[17]

WBRY is Barry University's student-run campus radio station and is broadcast on 1640 AM. Student DJs play "all kinds of music, from hip hop to classic rock, classical music to inner city blues."[18] Other programming includes sports shows, talk shows, and daily news.[18]