Vincentian Academy

Infobox School
name = Vincentian Academy-Duquesne University


imagesize = 150px
streetaddress = McKnight and Peebles Roads
city = Pittsburgh
state = Pennsylvania
country = USA coord|40.5569|N|80.0206|W|type:edu|display=title
affiliation = Vincentian Sisters of Charity
(Roman Catholic)
president = Sr. Mary Frances Grasinger [cite news | last = Chute | first = Eleanor | title = Vincentian Academy announces new president | publisher = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date = 2008-08-01 | url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08214/901117-298.stm | accessdate = 2008-08-12]
principal = Sr. Camille Panich, VSC
viceprincipal = Mr. Victor Boerio
ceeb = 393940
schooltype = Private Co-Ed
enrollment = 242cite web | work=Vincentian Academy website | title =About Vincentian | url=http://www.vaduq.org/about/about-home.htm | accessdate = 2007-01-19]
grades = 9–12
campus size = 67 acres
campus type = Suburban
conference = WPIAL
motto = Mind, Heart, and Spirit
mascot = Royals (Lion)
school_colours = Royal Blue and Gold
Colorsample|#002366 Colorsample|#FFD700
established = 1932
picture =
website = [http://www.vaduq.org www.vaduq.org]

Vincentian Academy-Duquesne University is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Founded in 1932 as Vincentian High School, it began its affiliation with Duquesne University in 1995. The Academy comprises three buildings housed on a 67 acre campus in McCandless Township, a north suburb of Pittsburgh. There is an approximate 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio,cite web | work=Vincentian Academy website | title =Quick facts | url=http://www.vaduq.org/ | accessdate = 2007-01-19] and the enrollment as of the 2006-2007 school year consisted of 60 freshmen, 49 sophomores, 59 juniors, and 74 seniors, a total of 242 students.

Academics

Vincentian Academy maintains 100% university placement, with special consideration when applying to Duquesne University, as well as a 25% minimum scholarship if accepted. Vincentian is one of twelve schools in Pennsylvania that offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

The IB Program

At Vincentian Academy approximately 80% of all juniors and seniors take some IB courses. Overall, 84% of all those students taking IB exams pass. Over the past eight years Vincentian IB diploma candidates have achieved an 82% pass rate which is higher than the world pass rate of 78% and significantly higher than the United States pass rate of approximately 75%.cite web | work=Vincentian Academy website | title =Welcome Letter From our president | url=http://www.vaduq.org/about/about-welcome.htm | accessdate = 2007-10-13]

Vincentian is unique in that it is the only Catholic, university-affiliated, International Baccalaureate school in the world.

Affiliation with Duquesne University

Early in the 1990s, Duquesne University president Dr. John E. Murray was investigating the possibility of a high school for Duquesne, disturbed by contemporary reports that American high schools were inferior to schools in Europe, Asia, and even third-world countries.cite web | last = Rusnak | first = Timothy G. | title = A brief history of Vincentian Academy | publisher = Vincentian Academy | date = 2006 | url = http://www.vaduq.org/about/about-history.htm | accessdate =2008-02-10] Reasoning that a university-affiliated school could be a model for the region and offer an advanced curriculum and integrate the resources of a major university into its operation, Murray explored the possibility as an extension of Duquesne's Spiritan tradition of often unconventional leadership.

Dialogue with the Vincentian Sisters began in 1993; an agreement was finalized 1994, and the inaugurating class was set to enroll in 1995, with Dean Derek Whordley of the Duquesne University School of Education to be president of the new school. In September 1995, Vincentian Academy-Duquesne University became officially operational, and 31 new Academy students were assimilated into the high school classes. A slow expansion was planned, with the new Academy gradually replacing the old Vincentian High School.

The International Baccalaureate program was selected as the new Academy's curriculum because of its international appeal and academic quality. Moreover, it would be an attractive venue for university researchers and a unique experience for teachers. In adopting the IB, Vincentian Academy-Duquesne University became the only Catholic IB school in the world that was part of a major university.

Alma Mater

The school alma mater dates from the founding of Vincentian High School, and so retains that wording.

"Hail! All hail, our dear Vincentian High School"
"We greet thee, our Alma Mater dear"
"Safe are we e're guided by thy rule"
"Thy mandate we gratefully revere"
"In thy realm protection can be found"
"Virtue, science, learning prevail"
"May thy praise throughout all days be found"
"Noble Queen, thee we hail"

References

External links

* [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06057/661032.stm "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" article about the IB at Vincentian]
* [http://www.diopitt.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Home Page]