About SBU

Embarking on another 150 years of excellence in education

St. Bonaventure University marked its 150th anniversary in 2008-2009, celebrating a rich history of providing extraordinary educational experiences and opportunities. We continue to have distinguished faculty, excellent academic offerings and a community of Franciscan friars and sisters committed to our mission.

In the past few years, we have invested millions of dollars in updating and expanding our facilities, which has transformed our campus and infused our curriculum. We invite you to join us as we journey into the future! 

SBU offers an extraordinary education you can afford

U.S.News & World Report ranks St. Bonaventure in the top tier of Northern Universities and No. 7 in Best College Values -- the highest ranking of any school in Western New York.

Our students look to serve

Bona’s students find challenge and opportunity inside and outside the classroom. In March 2006, 10 percent of our student population – more than 200 students and alumni – traded in flip-flops for sledgehammers and headed to the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast for 12 days of service to those affected by the hurricane.

The BonaResponds program continues to answer calls for help, whether they come from miles away or right in the University's backyard. 

The University’s soup kitchen, The Warming House, has operated for more than 30 years and is believed to be oldest student-run soup kitchen in the nation. It was honored in 2003 with a national award for “Forming Christian Conscience” from the Catholic Campus Ministry Association.

Five or our alumni are Pulitzer Prize winners

St. Bonaventure University has five graduates who have earned journalism's highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize: Robert Dubill, '58 (USA Today), John Hanchette, '64 (Gannett News Service), Charles Hanley, '68 (The Associated Press), Brian Toolan, '72 (Hartford Courant), and Dan Barry, '80 (New York Times). Hanchette returned to the University in 2002 to teach in the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

We're beaming with pride over our accreditations

St. Bonaventure is accredited by the Commission on High Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. Other accreditations include:

• Business – St. Bonaventure's School of Business has joined an elite group, achieving accreditation of its bachelor's and master's degree programs in business from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools in Business (AACSB). Accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools, worldwide. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review.
• Education – As a small liberal arts university, St. Bonaventure is particularly proud to have achieved accreditation from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching, teachers, school specialists and administrators.

World-class art in a world-class facility

The permanent art collection at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts encompasses a broad spectrum of art history from the beginning of Western civilization into the 21st century. Always exhibited are European and American paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and Asian and Native American art and artifacts.  

The renowned Franciscan Institute

The Franciscan Institute is the premier Franciscan resource library in the Americas, offering a unique interdisciplinary M.A. and Advanced Certificate taught by world-renowned faculty. It supports world-class scholars who produce critical editions of the Franciscan masters and translations of the works of Saint Bonaventure. 

Outstanding faculty and small classes

More than 80 percent of SBU's full-time faculty hold a Ph.D. or terminal degree. With a student to faculty ratio of 14:1, our class sizes are small and feature a personal touch.

Support from alumni and friends

While honoring a century-and-a-half of service, the university surpassed the goal of its 150th Anniversary Campaign in May, garnering more than $95 million in cash and pledges.

Student-run radio station a national hit

SBU's student-run radio station, WSBU.FM 88.3 The Buzz is rated No. 2 in the Princeton Review's top 10 hottest college stations in the country.

Student-athletes excel in many ways

Athletics continues to be an important part of a well-rounded Bonaventure education. Student-athletes at St. Bonaventure regularly achieve at high levels both in the classroom and in their sports.

• The overall GPA for SBU's 240 student-athletes in the spring of 2009 was 3.162, with 146 student-athletes earning placement on deans' lists.
• The women's basketball team placed 16th in 2008-09 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 with a team GPA of 3.35. It's the fourth straight year and the sixth time in the past seven seasons that the team made the WBCA's Academic Top 25 academic poll. The Bonnies were the only school from the Atlantic 10 to qualify for the honor and just one of eight teams to make the postseason in 2008-09 and make the top 25 academically.
• Eight members of the 2008-09 women's basketball squad earned a spot on the fall of 2008 or spring of 2009 A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with a 3.5 GPA or higher. Leading the way was senior Katelyn Murray who earned Academic All-America honors from ESPN The Magazine for the second straight season, while completing her collegiate career with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biology major. Murray was also named to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Women's Scholar-Athlete Team, becoming the first SBU student athlete to receive the honor. 
• St. Bonaventure baseball player Ryan Skellie became the first Bonnie ever named to the A-10 All Rookie team in May 2009, at the conclusion of his freshman year. The Erie, Pa., native batted .400 over 11 games in May of 2009 and finished the year with an average of .331, second-best on the team.
• Nathan Peck, a senior, and 2009 graduate Brennan Payne were named Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). Payne, the only student-athlete in program history to be named to the A-10 All-Conference team twice in his career, was also named to the A-10 All-Academic team for the second straight season. He graduated with a 3.62 GPA. Peck carries a 3.44 GPA as an accounting major.
• St. Bonaventure men's tennis players Enric Larregola and Mikhail Sudakov, both juniors, were named Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar Athletes for the 2008-09 academic year. Sudakov who was named the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Year while earning second team All-Conference status, has a 3.96 GPA as an accounting major. Larregola, a management science major, had a 3.79 GPA.
• Women's lacrosse senior Keri Vito, junior Molly Hastrich, sophomore Christine Hanley and freshman Danielle Drabin earned A-10 All-Conference honors in April of 2009.on Thursday afternoon, as announced by the league office.
• In January 2009, the women's soccer team was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for having the fourth-best grade-point average (GPA) in the nation for the 2007-08 academic year. The Bonnies posted a 3.54 team GPA.
• Allison Whalen, '09, was named to the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team. A Journalism and Mass Communication major, she had a 3.73 GPA.