University of St Francis

Founded in 1920, the University of St. Francis is a Catholic affiliated liberal arts institution based in Joliet, Illinois. The city itself is 40 miles southwest of Chicago, and is a host to events such as NASCAR racing at the Chicagoland Speedway. Joliet Correctional Centre operated from 1858 to 2002, and was the filming location of television series Prison Break.

As well as the College of Arts & Sciences, degree subjects are offered at the colleges of Business & Health Administration, Education, and Nursing. There are ten separate divisions of master’s programmes, and doctoral courses in Educational Leadership and Nursing Practice. The University of St. Francis in Albuquerque provides advanced health care programmes, and some courses will be offered at a reduced rate for residents of New Mexico.

The main campus of the university is based in Joliet’s historic Cathedral Areas Preservation District, a short distance from the Cathedral of St. Raymond. Built in 1922, Tower Hall is the main academic centre at St. Francis, and also on main campus is Moser Performing Arts Centre, which includes an art gallery and studio theatre. The campus library contains more than 110,000 physical volumes. Many of the varsity teams play The Pat Sullivan Recreation Centre, and are known as the Fighting Saints.

Also in Joliet is the St. Francis St. Clare Campus, which ran Guardian Angel Home Building for orphaned children for almost nine decades, and the St. Bonaventure in downtown Joliet, containing both a Free Enterprise Centre and an Art & Design department.

The university crest is divided between Tower Hall, and an image of the arm of St. Francis entwined with the arm of Jesus at the base of a cross. The motto translates as ‘My God and All’.

This institution should not be confused with the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.