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Saint Joseph's University granted special use exception for expanded use of Maguire Campus
Hundreds of hours and almost two years after St. Joe's applied for a special exception for expanded use of the James J. Maguire '58 Campus, university officials finally have something to smile about.
In a unanimous vote, the Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board granted the university their desired special exception, which would allow renovations to take place on the 38-acre property.
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What's in a name? That which we call a fence by any other name would still be a tall movement-preventing structure. What constitutes a "fence" was the main point of discussion at last week's zoning board hearing concerning the use of Maguire Campus ball fields.
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Another Lower Merion zoning board hearing has come and gone, but nothing has changed for the fate of Maguire Campus. Since the four-hour long examinations that characterize previous zoning board hearings have yet to produce a conclusion, the board has announced that the March.
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Overarching priorities addressed despite budget cuts
A new vice president, construction projects, and the hiring of new faculty lines were all part of an announcement made by President Timothy Lannon, S.J., during the winter recess. After a year of economic challenges, though, many in the university community remain hopeful but reserved in their expectations for 2010.
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As we proceed into the new decade, Saint Joseph's University is preparing for the creation of the Bridge Plan, a set of goals to improve the university to take place between 2010 and 2012. While the plan is still developing and being approved, there is a set of initiatives that the university wants to complete within the near future.
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St. Joe's appeal to zoning regulation issues regarding Maguire Campus yielded no forward progress for the university at the last hearing on Nov. 30. The meetings will reconvene after the holidays for two more sessions, the first of which is set to take place on Monday, Jan.
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It doesn't look like St. Joe's will be playing baseball on Maguire Campus any time soon. At the Nov. 5 continuation of the Lower Merion Zoning Commission hearing for St. Joe's, an additional five-hour hearing was scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30. Kenneth Aaron, Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board chair, said he didn't think "anything is going to be wrapped up soon," and advised both sides' counsels that the hearing would likely have to continue into the next calendar year.
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After the last town hall meeting concerning the development of the athletic facilities on Maguire Campus, Saint Joseph's and the Merion Community Coalition are still unwilling to "play ball." On Oct. 26 at the Lower Merion Zoning Commission hearing, after further discussions about issues concerning the installation of netting along Latches Lane, drainage, and traffic congestion, an additional meeting was scheduled for Nov.
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Next weekend, the Saint Joseph's tennis program will launch a new era in its history when it hosts the inaugural SJU Invitational. The men's event will be held this weekend, Sept. 25-27; the women's event will be held the following weekend, Oct. 2-4. The tennis program's official move to the renovated courts on Maguire Campus has paved the way for this tournament.
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Maguire Campus will not be home to updated athletic fields any time soon. After the Lower Merion Township Zoning Board meeting on Sept. 3, the commissioners were no closer to reaching a decision than they were at the hearing in mid-July. While Saint Joseph's council finished its questioning of the first witness, land planner Dennis Glackin, the representatives of the Merion Community Coalition (MCC) have yet to finish cross-examination.
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A recent quote attributed to a Merion Community Coalition (MCC) member, Irene Glickman, in this weekend's Philadelphia Inquirer has left St. Joe's administrators, faculty, and staff fuming even more than the decision by the township's Zoning Hearing Board to halt alterations to the baseball fields on Maguire Campus this past Thursday.
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When it comes to impressing its neighbors, St. Joe's may be fighting an uphill battle. Over the course of the conflict with Lower Merion residents surrounding the improvements to Maguire Campus, the university has been accused of accepting "80 percent of its applicants" because it's "big on sports," suggesting that the quality of the students is below par.
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At this time last year, Maguire Campus was envisioned to be a bustling hub of student and athletic activities by the spring of 2009. One year later, virtually none of the promise the grounds held for Saint Joseph's athletics has been realized. The arrival of the Spring 2009 sports season marks the second season where the property's 14.
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Merion Community Coalition appeal partially approved
On March 26, Saint Joseph's University's ultimate aspirations for the athletic facilities on Maguire Campus were checked by a ruling of the Township of Lower Merion's Zoning Hearing Board. After months of controversy between Saint Joseph's and the Merion Community Coalition, a group of concerned residents of Lower Merion that ballooned to nearly 400 members in the weeks before last Thursday's ruling, the Board ruled in favor of the Coalition.
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At the Maguire Campus Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Sept. 27, James J. Maguire, '58, and wife Frannie Maguire announced their intention to grant an extra $5 million to Saint Joseph's University, bringing their overall contribution to $15 million. As the leading contributors in a group of more than 500 donors, the Maguires have helped push Saint Joseph's closer to achieving its goal of $150 million over the course of seven years.
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The renovations on Finnesey Field at the start of the 2008 fall sports season forced the field hockey team to play their home games off campus at Drexel University. While the new turf was laid just in time for the start of fall sports, the change in material proved non-conducive to field hockey play.
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A group of concerned citizens waits patiently for the public privilege segment of the Sept. 17 Lower Merion Board of Commissioners meeting. While they can only speak for three minutes a piece, they should be able to put together something cohesive by addressing the board one after the other.
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The protracted controversy between Saint Joseph's and the Merion Community Coalition over the "similar use" to which the university is entitled in renovating and improving Maguire Campus was brought before the community again on Dec. 8. Approximately 200 residents of Lower Merion Township, as well as a strong contingent of baseball and softball players front Saint Joseph's, packed into a boardroom to witness testimony from both sides concerning the extent to which the university can modify Maguire's existing athletic facilities to meet NCAA standards.
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"Change" was the catchphrase of the 2008 election season, but the word came into play here at Saint Joseph's University as well. This year, an extremely ambitious vision for the university, which has been in play for years, finally came to fruition with the start of construction in Campion and the Fieldhouse, along with the official acquisition and opening of the Maguire Campus.
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It is apparent that Saint Joseph's cares about attaining the facilities it needs to be counted among the ranks of the best schools of our size and demographic in the Northeast. The administration has done a commendable job making Maguire a cohesive part of the campus footprint in less than a semester's time, the expansion of Campion Student Center appears to be moving swiftly, and the renovations to the Fieldhouse are already generating excitement among rabid basketball fans.
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Now in the midst of the third quarter of a 30 month comprehensive advertising campaign, Saint Joseph's University's Department of Marketing Communications continues to tailor its message to match the school's evolving educational environment and geographical footprint.
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Former Episcopal Academy immediately put to use
The newly acquired Maguire campus has immediately become an important part of Saint Joseph's University, with a number of classes scheduled in the classroom buildings there. A number of offices for professors and athletic coaches have also been moved to the new section of the Lower Merion campus.
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In the world of property ownership, settlement day is a big one. Pens scribble signatures. Hands shake. Keys are turned over. And a new chapter begins. Aug. 15 is settlement day for Saint Joseph's University, the day the university officially closes on The Episcopal Academy's Merion campus and begins renovations to transform the property into Saint Joseph's Maguire Campus.
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In the summer of 1954, after pre-season morning football practice, Walter W. Buckley, Jr., along with his Episcopal Academy teammates, made their way down to Dakes Pharmacy on 54th Street and City Avenue. Buckley always packed a lunch from home, but he still made the trip in between morning and afternoon practices to buy a milkshake or two.
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Episcopal Academy is serious about trees. In fact, at one time, every native North American species that could grow in Philadelphia's climate existed on the school's Merion campus. That project was the brainchild of Episcopal's own Dr. Doolittle, Fred Doolittle, to be exact.
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LaSalle has 130. Haverford has 200. Villanova has 254. Currently occupying just 65 acres of space, landlocked Saint Joseph's University is a tight squeeze. When Episcopal Academy hands over its keys to Saint Joseph's in mid-August, Saint Joseph's will stretch another 35 acres.
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When the Saint Joseph's University community officially migrates to the Maguire Campus in the coming years, students will be able to conduct meetings under sloping roofs of weathered copper, eat while staring up at a skylight at the base of a spire, or lounge while gazing out glass doors flanked by walls made of windows.
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Episcopal Academy officials are leaving behind a lot of furniture and equipment when they turn over their property to Saint Joseph's later this summer. Unfortunately, they're not leaving the Roasted Pepper and Crab or the Tuscan White Bean with Proscuitto soups.
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On April 21, Kevin Robinson, vice president of Administrative Services, presented initial plans for the transition to Maguire Campus in front of the University Student Senate (USS). Renovations are slated to begin as early as Aug. 16, one day after Saint Joseph's University is to officially close on the property.
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On Wednesday, April 2, Vice President for Financial Affairs and Chair of the Budget Advisory Committee Louis Mayer presented the Saint Joseph's University community with the University budget for the 2009 fiscal year. The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) is composed of four faculty members, four university vice presidents, two administrators, and two students.
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On Wednesday, Oct. 3, University President Timothy Lannon, S.J., highlighted the successes of the past academic year and the upcoming challenges and goals that lie ahead for Saint Joseph's University at the Annual Fall President's Convocation and Faculty Staff Campaign Kick-off Reception in Mandeville Hall's Wolfington Teletorium.
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The LaFarge Lounge was a buzzing with activity Tuesday during free period. The University Student Senate hosted a forum dealing with the newly-acquired Maguire Campus. Several administrators were present and displayed interest in learning what the students were hoping to see improved on our campus by there being such a large increase in space.
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For Americans in general, and college students in particular, this has been an important year for environmentalism. The commercial success of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" and the growing support for more environmental regulation proves this. And with the relocation of many programs to the Maguire (formerly Episcopal) campus, Saint Joseph's will have to renovate, demolish, and construct buildings.
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Sitting in the conference room of the Maguire Insurance Agency, a pair of roughly hewn busts stand to one side of a huge white screen at the front of a warmly lit room. Surrounding the corporate mahogany table are a troop of dark, high-backed chairs. Seated comfortably across from me, James Maguire converses in a paternal fashion on subjects ranging from the intricacies of the insurance business to the importance of passion in one's everyday life.
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New committee guarantees Maguire student involvement
The University Student Senate is in the process of forming a student Maguire Campus Transition Team in order to guarantee that students have input in the future plans for the Maguire Campus. Members of the Senate hope to pick the team members by the end of the year so that during the summer they can decide upon their mode of action for the '06-'07 school year.
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University receives second ten million dollar gift toward Maguire campus
Saint Joseph's University has taken one step closer to preeminence. Alumnus and trustee Brian Duperreault, '69, has donated $10 million to the University to aid in the acquisition of the Maguire campus. The Office of University Communications press release quoted University President Father Lannon, S.
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Saint Joseph's University received a surprise birthday gift yesterday when President Timothy Lannon, S.J., revealed the name of the new Episcopal property: Maguire Campus. The campus is named in honor of Jim Maguire, '58, an alumnus and former trustee who donated $10 million toward purchasing the largest piece of real estate in St.
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"Important step" in university's vision
Last April, Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., University President, addressed the entire University community at the Spring Convocation regarding Saint Joseph's current situation and his plans for the University's future. Outlining his plans, Father Lannon revealed Plan 2010: The Path to Preeminence.
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On Tuesday, April 19, 2005, the Organizational Presidents Association (OPA) met for the first time in over a year under the direction of Student Body President, P. J. Hughes, '06. This organization is made up of the Presidents or executive members of nearly every student run organization on campus.
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By Christopher Nyberg '05 Hawk Staff On February 25 the Board of Trustees approved the budget presented by the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) for the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget. On Wednesday, April 6 at 3:30 p.m. they presented this budget to students, faculty, staff, community members, and anyone else who attended the meeting in the teletorium auditorium Included in this budget is a six percent increase in undergraduate tuition totaling $1550, a 4.
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