Salve Regina University is a private, Catholic university, founded by the Sisters of Mercy.
In 1934 the state of Rhode Island granted a charter for Salve Regina College, and in 1947 the stunning, 50-room mansion known as Ochre Court was gifted to the college, allowing the university to open its doors for the first time.
The university became coeducational in 1973, accepting men for the first time in its history and two years later graduate programs were added.
The college gained university status in 1991 and today there are 46 undergraduate majors, 11 master’s programs, and two doctoral level courses available at Salve Regina University. Students are able to study abroad for between a semester and a year of their course, with opportunities available in more than 40 countries across the world.
The 80-acre university campus is located in Newport, Rhode Island, in the city’s Bellevue Avenue Historic District and spread across seven estates. Among some of the notable on-campus buildings are Ochre Court, the university’s first home, as well as Gothic-style Munroe Center, the red sandstone mansion McAuley Hall, and Wakehurst, an enormous, Elizabethan-style manor house built in 1887 and home to a range of student activities.
More than half of the student population live on-campus in one of the varied range of residence halls.
Notable former students include actress Betty Hutton, former President & CEO of The New York Times Company, Janet L. Robinson, Chaplain of the United States Senate, Barry C. Black, and former Commander in Chief of the US Central Command, Anthony Zinni.
