Manhattan University: A Legacy of Education and Innovation

Manhattan University, an independent Catholic institution, has a rich history deeply rooted in the Lasallian tradition of education. Established in 1853, the university has evolved from a small academy to a comprehensive institution of higher learning, committed to providing a person-centered educational experience that prepares graduates for personal development, professional success, civic engagement, and service to others.

Founding and Early Years

The story of Manhattan University begins with the arrival of five Christian Brothers in May 1853. They relocated their Canal Street school to Manhattanville, a neighborhood in New York City located at 131st Street and Broadway. These Brothers brought with them the educational principles of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the founder of their order and the Patron Saint of Teachers.

De La Salle's vision was revolutionary for his time. He formed a community of religious Brothers dedicated solely to teaching, focusing on the education of artisans' children and the underprivileged. His mission was to foster their intellectual, spiritual, moral, economic, and social growth. In response to the needs of his time, De La Salle created a new type of school system and elevated the work of teaching school - treating it as a profession and a vocation. The Brothers were urged to go beyond rote memory to “touch the hearts” of the students.

Between 1853 and 1863, the school experienced significant growth, introducing university-level courses in 1859 and adopting the name Manhattan College in 1861. On April 2, 1863, it was officially chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York.

A Unique Educational Approach

Manhattan College distinguished itself from its peers by combining a broad liberal arts education with rigorous technical and pre-professional training. This innovative approach prepared students for a wide range of careers and contributed to the institution's growing reputation.

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As enrollment increased, the college sought a new location. In 1922, the cornerstone of the "New Manhattan" was laid in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, where the university remains today. The Riverdale campus housed both the College and a preparatory school for high school students, Manhattan College High School, also known as Manhattan Prep. The addition of new buildings and student residences has enlarged and enhanced the campus significantly.

Evolution and Adaptation

Over the years, Manhattan University has undergone significant transformations while remaining true to its founding principles.

Coeducation: Originally an all-male institution, Manhattan University established a co-institutional, cooperative program with the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 1963. The pair became coeducational in 1973 and 1974, respectively. This partnership lasted until 2007. The University became coeducational and accepted its first women undergraduate students in 1973.
Residential Campus: With the opening of Horan Hall (1990) and its twin, East Hill (2008), the University completed a major transformation from a majority-commuter to a majority-residential university. Manhattan University now offers a four-year guarantee of resident housing and 80 percent of the student body chooses to live on or near campus.
Name Change: In 2024, Manhattan College officially changed its name to Manhattan University in order to better recognize its more than 100 majors, minors, graduate programs, and advanced degrees, and attract a more globally diverse student body.

What was a predominantly Christian Brothers faculty has become predominantly lay, and includes a significant percentage of women.

Commitment to the Lasallian Tradition

Today Manhattan University identifies itself as a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition. That tradition has continued to characterize the special educational experience offered by the University over its long history. Its constant focus has been the education of the disadvantaged. From its beginning, the University has paid particular attention to educating first-generation university students, and was an early proponent of access to disadvantaged and minority students, establishing special scholarship funds as early as 1938.

The University continues to realize the objectives stated in its first catalog by maintaining a full range of programs in the liberal arts and sciences, combined with professional programs in engineering, business and education.

Campus and Facilities

Manhattan University occupies a relatively compact campus divided into a north and south campus in the residential Riverdale section of the Bronx.

North Campus: Overlooks Van Cortlandt Park and centers around "the Quad," surrounded by the campus's four main buildings. Memorial Hall serves as the main entry and houses administrative offices. Miguel Hall and De La Salle Hall are the primary academic buildings, with Miguel hosting liberal arts and De La Salle housing the O'Malley School of Business. Thomas Hall is a student life building, housing the dean of students, student government, and musical ensembles. Kelly Commons, completed in 2014, is another student life building. The O'Malley Library is a six-story structure that was joined with the previous library, the Cardinal Hayes Pavilion.
South Campus: Located across 240th street, features the Higgins '62 Engineering and Science Center, connected to Leo Hall and the Research and Learning Center (RLC). These buildings house engineering departments (electrical, computer, civil, chemical, mechanical, and environmental), math and computer science departments, communication classrooms, computer labs, and broadcasting studios. Laboratories and classes for these disciplines take place in both buildings. Both biology and chemistry laboratories are also located on the south campus. In September 2021, the Leo Engineering Building was refurbished with a new 30,000 square foot building with 14 engineering and science labs.

There are currently four on-campus residence halls at Manhattan University. Draddy Gymnasium is the home of the basketball and volleyball teams, and also features the largest indoor track in New York City. Gaelic Park, on 240th Street, has recently been renovated with an artificial turf and is where soccer, lacrosse, and softball teams play. The institution also utilizes adjacent Van Cortlandt Park for outdoor track and field, golf, and cross country as well as intramural activities. The Broadway Garage is a five floor parking garage, approved in 2006 and completed soon afterward, located on Broadway. The garage offers parking to students and faculty, as well as visitors.

Academics and Programs

Manhattan University offers degrees in three undergraduate schools: the Kakos School of Arts and Sciences, the O'Malley School of Business, and the School of Engineering. Classes operate on a semester schedule. The first semester begins in late August and runs to December. The second semester begins in mid-January and runs to mid-May.

The institution offers a number of pre-professional programs such as pre-dental, pre-law, pre-medical, pre-physical therapy, and pre-veterinary; and graduate programs in mathematics, education, engineering and business. The graduate School of Engineering allows students studying engineering as an undergraduate the opportunity to continue on to get their master's degree without having to switch institutions, as is the case at colleges with a 3 + 2 engineering program. The B.S. Business / Masters of Business Administration Program offers students an option to complete a five-year multiple award program. The successful completion of the five-year program leads to two awards: a B.S.

Manhattan University contains chapters of various honor societies as Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi and Tau Beta Pi, Pi Mu Epsilon, a national mathematics honor society. A newly established chapter of Lambda Pi Eta communication honorary has also been added, as well as Kappa Alpha Omicron an interdisciplinary environmental science and studies honorary.

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History Major: Flexibility and Focus

Marymount Manhattan’s History major is unlike those at most colleges, which have rigid requirements. At MMC we ask you to make history your own. Two core courses teach you how to “do” history; from there you choose from pre-defined “areas of inquiry” to customize your study. Armed with research savvy, you’ll then customize your studies by choosing the areas of history you want to focus on. Your studies will culminate with a “capstone” project-independent research mentored by a faculty member and designed to pull together all your coursework. While research papers are most common, students can think creatively with an eye towards next steps in career or graduate work. Researching the past offers lessons for making society stronger in the future. Understanding how power operates in society prepares students to advocate for the kind of society they want to live in. Our expert faculty are published scholars in their respective fields, and many are also highly active in local, national, and international organizations, including the United Nations. Research and hands-on learning are important parts of the experience as a history, political science, or international studies student. Historians use a variety of sources to explain change over time. International Studies focuses on international relations and culture and the transnational forces that have shaped them. Political science is the study of power in society - on the local, national and international levels. The major equips students to understand how politics works, and to play effective roles as citizens of a democracy and of the world. Historians use a variety of sources to explain how human relationships have changed over time. Considering events across centuries and around the world, they are storytellers whose narratives are rooted in reality, and specific to a time and place. Studying history at Manhattan University gives you access to a breadth of historical subjects. You will learn directly from the experts on these topics. Our faculty members study everything from the American West to East Asia and the Ancient World to the modern United States. As a history major, you are eligible to apply for one-on-one research opportunities with faculty. The Summer Research Scholars program and the Branigan Scholars grant fund summer research and writing projects. These competitive experiences look great on resumes when applying to graduate schools or jobs. The Department hosts movie nights (Monty Python, anyone?), social gatherings and lectures. In fact, every semester, top historians from around the world visit campus to speak about their research. Learning to read, write and analyze information at a high level will prepare you for any career path. Employers value critical thinkers, and the demand for this skill is especially high in New York City.

Athletics

Manhattan University fields 19 Division-I athletic teams for men and women, including basketball, golf, soccer, baseball and softball, lacrosse, volleyball, and rowing. The school's men's sports teams are called the Jaspers; women's teams are known as the Lady Jaspers.

In the modern era, basketball is the most popular sport at the institution. The Manhattan University Track and Field program is the richest athletic tradition at the institution, amassing a total of 31 out of a possible 32 MAAC Indoor/Outdoor Track titles. In 1973, Manhattan University won the Indoor NCAA Championship along with setting a new world record in the distance medley relay. Manhattan was also home to former American Record holder in the 5,000m Matthew Centrowitz Sr. The Program was run by legendary coach/runner Fred Dwyer who ran an astounding 4:00.8 mile while at his time at Villanova University.

The college annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880s and into the 1890s at the Polo Grounds and Manhattan is credited by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spreading from there into major league baseball. It is written in the Baseball Hall of Fame that "During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game.

Manhattan University had a football program from 1924 until 1942. The team posted an all-time record of 194 wins, 198 losses and 22 ties. The final coach for the football team was Herbert M. Kopf. After the 1942 season, the school suspended intercollegiate football competition for World War II and then did not reactivate the program after completion of the war. The team was invited to the first ever Miami Palm Festival Game, predecessor to the Orange Bowl, played on January 2, 1933, University of Miami defeated Manhattan University, 7-0.

Manhattan University's rowing program holds much history, as well. It is one of the original 8 founding members of the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, the largest collegiate regatta in the United States. and Canada and thousands of student-athletes on the second Saturday of May. The team's coach, Allen Walz, along with the football coach at the time, Herbert M. Kopf, served as stewards to the regatta. In 1936 and 1938, Manhattan was one of two teams competing in the regatta, the other being Rutgers, on the Harlem River. Both the men's and women's teams still compete in the Dad Vail Regatta today, as well as in the MAAC Championships, N.Y. State Championships, and Knecht Cup. The women's team became Division I in 2015, while the men's team has remained at the club level. The women's team currently trains out of Overpeck County Park under Head Coach Alex Canale while the men's team has moved to Glen Island Park under Head Coach Kate Hickes.

Manhattan's men's lacrosse program became Division I in 1997. They have qualified for the MAAC tournament 7 times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008-2010). In 2002, the Jaspers went undefeated in the MAAC (9-0) and won the MAAC Championship. They finished with an 11-6 record. The Jaspers earned a bid to the NCAA Playoffs in 2002, playing Georgetown.

Campus Life

Manhattan University Pipes & Drums was established in 1981 by Brother Kenneth Fitzgerald, FSC with the musical assistance of Captain Robert Hogan, of the New York City Police Department Emerald Society Pipes & Drums. Also known as the JasperBand, the Manhattan University Pep Band provides musical inspiration to get the Jasper crowds going at Men's and Women's basketball games. The Pep Band travels with teams to important away games to provide support away from home as well. In addition to performances at sporting events, the band also performs in concerts and events such as the MAAC Band Jam prior to the MAAC Basketball tournament. The band performs a variety of music from an expansive repertoire, ranging from Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes and You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon, to modern day hits such as High Hopes by Panic! at the Disco and Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes.

Manhattan University has eight recognized performing arts groups. The Quadrangle (or The Quad) is the student newspaper of Manhattan University. The Quadrangle publishes weekly on Tuesdays during the academic year. It is editorially independent of the college's administration.

Location and Accessibility

The institution is located between two major New York City highways, the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway.

Notable Alumni

Manhattan has approximately 50,000 living alumni worldwide.

Academia: Joseph A. Alutto, executive vice president and provost of the Ohio State University; L.
Arts and Literature: William Edmund Barrett, author of The Left Hand of God and Lilies of the Field; James Patterson, Edgar Award-winning novelist; Al Sarrantonio, Bram Stoker Award-winning author; George A.
Business: Sam Belnavis, former NASCAR owner; Vincent dePaul Draddy, football player who introduced Izod and Lacoste brands; John M. Fahey, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society; Frank M. Folsom, former president of RCA Victor; John Horan '40, former chairman & CEO of Merck & Co.; Lynn Martin, 68th president of the New York Stock Exchange; Eugene R. McGrath, former chairman and CEO of Con Edison; Eileen Murray, co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates; Joseph M. Tucci, chairman, president and CEO of the EMC Corporation and Stephen J.
Law and Government: John S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York; Hugh J. Grant, 91st Mayor of New York City; Rudy Giuliani, 107th Mayor of New York City; Raymond W. Representatives from New York: Mike Lawler, John J. Boylan, John J. Delaney, John J. Fitzgerald, Ambassador Thomas E. McNamara, Bill Owens, Angelo D. Roncallo, Thomas Francis Smith, Andrew Lawrence Somers, and James J.
Other: James W.

Rankings and Recognition

In 2019, Money magazine ranked Manhattan as the top "transformative" school in the nation in a study that took into account earnings and graduation rates to determine which schools help students succeed professionally. Manhattan was ranked 78th out of 1,879 schools in return on investment according to PayScale's 2018 rankings. A 2015 Brookings Institution study ranked it as the ninth best school in the country when comparing expected versus actual mid-career earnings. Forbes ranked Manhattan 173rd out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024-25 report.

Leadership

Manhattan University is led by a president.

Recent Challenges

In late 2023 and early 2024, Manhattan College eliminated more than twenty major and minor programs and terminated over 25% of faculty due to persistent declining enrollment and increasing structural deficits.

A Transformative Educational Journey

Manhattan University students build strong relationships with peers, faculty, and alumni throughout their four-year educational journey. The Riverdale campus provides access to New York City's financial and cultural center, offering internship opportunities and a vibrant residential experience.

Academics for In-Demand Skills

Manhattan University hosts three schools that offer a wide variety of undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs. Some of the most popular academic programs include Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Communication, Finance and Psychology. Students gain job-related experience through internships, research and study abroad opportunities.

The curricula are designed with the students’ future in mind - incorporating hands-on learning through faculty-led research, study abroad and international research trips. In fact, students contributed to scholarship research in topics ranging from social media and anxiety to system-on-chip architecture and portable genomic sequencing. With Manhattan’s alumni reporting an early career salary of $77,000, according to Payscale, the University helps pave the way for professional success.

Career Development and Mentorship

Career planning and development resources are available from year one. The Mentor Program pairs students with professionals in their chosen field. The extensive Manhattan University alumni network provides mentorship and career opportunities for next-gen leaders.

NYC as a Living Classroom

Many Manhattan University graduates start their careers in New York City internships at places like IBM, Morgan Stanley, the New York Mets, Turner Construction and Donna Karan. On average, approximately 78 percent of students at Manhattan University complete one or more internships. Professors use NYC as a classroom by conducting visits to sites such as Wall Street, the Museum of Natural History and the United Nations.

Guaranteed Residential Housing

Undergraduate housing is guaranteed for all four years, with options including traditional residence halls, suites, and apartment-style housing. All rooms include cable TV and internet access, community lounges, kitchen and dining areas, air conditioning, laundry, and study spaces.

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