St. Mary's College, Kansas

Infobox_University


name = Saint Mary's Academy and College
motto = "Instaurare Omnia in Christo"
(To Restore All Things in Christ)
established = 1978
type = Religious School,
Society of St. Pius X
president=
chancellor=
principal= Rev. Fr. Vicente A. Griego, Rector
city = St. Marys
state = Kansas
country = USA
undergrad = 750 (Academy) (2003)
postgrad = 60 (College) (2003)
staff =
campus = Suburban
mascot = Crusaders
colors = Blue and White
endowment=
website= http://www.smac.edu/

Saint Mary's Academy and College is a religious school of the Society of St. Pius X located in St. Marys, Kansas, 25 miles (40 km) west of Topeka. The school has recently made headlines for not allowing a woman to referee a varsity basketball game because of her gender.

t. Mary's College

The original college at this location, St. Mary's College, was founded in 1848 as an Indian mission. The school is the site of the first cathedral west of the Missouri River and east of the Rockies, the 1851 "log cathedral" of Bishop Jean-Baptiste Miege, S.J., Apostolic Vicar of Pope Pius IX known familiarly as "The Bishop East of the Rockies".

(School literature refers to Bishop Miege's cathedral as the first cathedral west of the Mississippi. However, Upper California was part of the Diocese of Sonora, which was established in 1779 by Pius VI and, after 1840 it was under the bishop of Alta and Baja (Upper and Lower) California until the establishment of the Diocese of Monterey in 1850. Further, the Diocese of St Louis, Missouri, was established in 1826 and the cornerstone of the current Basilica laid in 1831 on the western bank of the Mississippi river. )

The 465 acre (1.9 km²) college had been operated by the Jesuit order as a seminary since 1931. It became one of the most prominent United States sites for Catholic higher education but closed in 1968 with the decline of the Jesuit order, along with most orders in North America.

aint Mary's Academy and College

In 1978 the Society of Saint Pius X purchased the property along with 12 major buildings. The school is now incorporated in Kansas as "The Society of Saint Pius X, Saint Mary's, Inc." It has no direct ties with the previous St. Marys College.

As of 2003, the Academy had enrollment of 750 students K-12 and the two-year college had enrollment of 60 in a liberal arts curriculum. St. Mary's does not have a seminary program. St Mary's offers boarding for students in the 8th grade and higher.

St. Mary's Academy and College is not accredited by the State. In 2002, the governor of Kansas formally recognized Saint Mary's Academy and College for the excellence of its educational curriculum.

The school operates its own radio station, KSMK-LP 98.3 FM.

St. Mary's Academy and College is also a traditional Catholic parish of approximately 2450 persons (2003).

Controversy

In February 2008 St. Mary's Academy made news when a female referee was told that she could not officiate the high school basketball game. The other referee claimed that someone told him it was because "as a woman," she "could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs". St. Mary's Academy is on the Kansas State High School Activities Association list of more than 300 approved schools, and plays "one or two games per season" against member schools. [Sports Illustrated February 13, 2008 [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/highschool/02/13/female.official.ap/ Kansas HS refuses female official] ]

St. Mary's official reply to the incident included (http://www.smac.edu/?0208PressRelease):

: This alleged reason was neither stated nor is it held by any official of St. Mary's Academy, as evidenced by the fact that the faculty and staff of St. Mary's includes many honorable ladies of talent and erudition....: St. Mary's Academy follows the directives of the Catholic Church regarding co-education. The Church has always promoted the ideal of forming and educating boys and girls separately during the adolescent years, especially in physical education (Cf. Divini Illius Magistri - Encyclical on the Christian Education of Youth, by Pope Pius XI, 1929 and The Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of Religious on Co-Education, A.A.S., 25 (1958) pp. 99-103). This formation of adolescent boys is best accomplished by male role models, as the formation of girls is best accomplished by women. Hence in boys' athletic competitions, it is important that the various role models (coaches and referees) be men.

References

External links

* [http://www.smac.edu/ St Mary's Academy and College homepage]
* [http://www.ksmk.org/ KSMK school radio station]