Nazareth College (New York) Information

Nazareth College — or "Naz" for short — is a private college in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, that offers 60+ undergraduate majors and more than two dozen graduate programs. The college was previously known as Nazareth College of Rochester.

Nazareth College is organized into four core schools:

Nazareth offers more than 60 four-year undergraduate programs, more than 20 masters degree programs, a Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and three post-baccalaureate certificate programs.

Nazareth is ranked among the countrys most prestigious colleges and universities for its number of Fulbright scholars. From 2009 to 2018, 30 Fulbrights were awarded to Nazareth students. The Chronicle of Higher Education placed Nazareth in the #1 spot (in the Masters Institutions category) of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Students, 2012–13 list. Since 1990, Nazareth graduates have been granted Fulbright awards for study in Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Nazareth College offers an honors program to provide its most capable students with opportunities and challenges appropriate to their abilities and motivation. The goal of the program is to encourage academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and independent scholarship. Students in the honors program study logic and rhetoric, plus 12 credits related to a scholarly, professional, or personal interest, and complete an honors thesis.

In fall 2013, Nazareth College joined the Clinton Global Initiative University Network (CGI U), a consortium of colleges and universities that support, mentor, and provide seed funding to student leaders who are developing solutions to the worlds most pressing challenges. From 2014 to 2018, CGI U selected a total of 31 students from Nazareth College to attend its three-day international conference, based on the strength of the projects they proposed in health, education, youth empowerment, and the environment.

Renovated in 2009, the Nazareth College Arts Center is a campus venue with spaces including:

The Nazareth College Arts Center is the home of Bach Children’s Chorus as well as the performance home of Rochester City Ballet and Garth Fagan Dance. The Arts Center houses the Nazareth College departments of Art, Music, and Theatre and Dance.

The Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue (CISD) at Nazareth College was founded in 2005. In 2011, International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) of Herndon, Virginia offered Nazareth a major gift, provided it was matched by local donors. Brian and Jean Hickey matched this gift, resulting in renaming the center of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Nazareth College. The endowed chair of the Center was left to the IIIT, and they selected Dr. Muhammad Shafiq, who was the imam of the Islamic Center of Rochester, the Rochester metropolitan areas largest mosque. The Center is part of Nazareth’s College of Arts and Sciences and located in the Golisano Academic Center. Dr. Muhammad Shafiq is the executive director of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue and a professor of Islamic and religious studies at the college.

The Casa Italiana (Italian House) is a center of Italian language, literature, and culture. It serves as a cultural center for the college and the Rochester metropolitan area. Built with the help of the Italian-American community of greater Rochester in 1978, the Casa promotes traditional and contemporary Italian culture, explores the Italian-American experience, and seeks to enhance exchanges between the United States and Italy. The reading room at the Casa provides the college and the community with language and culture resources, and the classroom provides an environment in which students and community members can study the Italian language. Cultural events organized by the Casa include lectures, cooking and language classes, film nights, conferences, concerts, seminars, symposia, bocce tournaments, art shows, and trips to Italy.

La Maison Française (French House) is a home converted into a cultural center and residence hall for 13 selected foreign language majors. The French House offers a living environment and resource center for students who wish to immerse themselves in French culture and practice speaking French. La Maison Française also offers a line-up of cultural events throughout the year. Such gatherings, which include French film nights, cultural and historical lectures, reader’s theater showcases, Francophone regional dinners, and campus diversity dinners, occur on Thursday evenings and are prepared by the French department and the house residents.

At the heart of the Spanish program is the Casa Hispana, a place where students and community members enjoy films, conversation, art exhibitions, and a variety of events relating to the culture of Spain and the Latin American countries. The Casa also houses the offices of the Spanish program faculty, a library, and classrooms.

Nazareths mens and womens athletic teams are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Associations (NCAA) Division III. The Golden Flyers are a member of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference (Empire 8). For mens volleyball, Nazareth is a member of the single-sport United Volleyball Conference and for mens ice hockey, a member of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. Athletic facilities at Nazareth include the Robert A. Kidera Gymnasium (1,200) and Golden Flyer Stadium (2,200).

Mens sports include basketball, cross country, equestrian, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball; while womens sports include basketball, cross country, equestrian, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and dance. The College announced plans to add womens hockey in 2018.

The Nazareth mens lacrosse team is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion (1992, 1996, and 1997). The team has also appeared in the NCAA postseason tournament nineteen times. In 2011, the Nazareth mens indoor volleyball team achieved a #1 national ranking and won the Molten Division III National Championship, while in 2013 they finished runner-up in the NCAA Division III championship to Springfield.

Nazareth Colleges traditional rival is St. John Fisher College, just a mile up north. The annual mens basketball game between the schools is known as "The Battle of the Beaks."

More than 95% of students are involved in community service through academic service-learning, student organizations, athletics, and residence life. Nazareth has an on-campus Center for Civic Engagement to serve as a resource for students, staff, and faculty who want to learn and serve in the context of the local, regional, national and global communities. The Center is also a point of contact for community members seeking College involvement with local organizations, programs, and projects. The school also has a campus ministry program to connect students to various volunteer organizations. In addition, over 60% of alumni are known to participate regularly in community service. In 2007, the college was named to the Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (with distinction). And in 2013, Nazareth was only one of five schools in the country named to the 2013 Presidents Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest honor a college or university can receive, at the federal level, for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

Nazareth has more than 33,000 alumni living in all 50 states and 38 countries around the world.

Notable Nazareth alumni include:

At the request of Bishop Thomas Francis Hickey of Rochester, five Sisters of St. Joseph founded Nazareth College of Rochester in 1924. The first class was composed of 25 young women who began their studies in a large mansion on Lake Avenue in Rochester, New York. The original mansion that housed the college was known as "the Glass House." At that time, the college offered Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, each with a liberal arts core. In response to increasing enrollment, the college moved to a larger facility in 1928 at 402 Augustine Street.