Fairfield University
Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In the fall of 2024, the university had about 5,400 full-time undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students, including full-time and part-time students. It offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its five schools and colleges.
History
In 1941, James H. Dolan, Provincial for the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, received written permission from Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe of the Hartford Archdiocese to establish a Jesuit high school and college in the southwestern area of Connecticut. Fairfield University was officially founded in 1942 when the Jesuits acquired the two contiguous estates of the Brewster Jennings and Walter Lashar families. Upon its founding, it became the 26th Jesuit college/university in the United States.In the same year, Dolan appointed John J. McEleney as the first president of the Fairfield University of St. Robert Bellarmine and Vicar of the Fairfield College Preparatory School. In 1944, Dolan became the second president. During his tenure, the State of Connecticut chartered Fairfield University to grant degrees in 1945. In 1947, the College of Arts and Sciences admitted its first class of 303 male students. The State of Connecticut accredited the College of Arts and Sciences and the university held its first summer session of undergraduate courses in 1949.
In 1970, Fairfield became co-educational, admitting its first undergraduate class of women. In the same year, the School of Nursing, which is now part of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies was formed, offering four year undergraduate programs.
The 1971 Supreme Court case Tilton vs. Richardson established an important legal precedent concerning the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and government financial assistance to religious-based colleges and universities. This landmark court case questioned the legality of Fairfield and three other Connecticut religious-based institutions securing federal construction grants under the Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963. An appeal by the plaintiffs was denied by the Supreme Court on June 28, 1971, ensuring Fairfield a significant amount of federal money which contributed to the construction of the Nyselius Library and Bannow Science Center.
In 1978, the School of Business, now known as the Dolan School of Business, was established, as a separate and standalone school. Prior to this the Department of Business was part of the College of Arts and Sciences. At the same time, the school began offering its first graduate business degree program, a Master of Science in Financial Management.
Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., was installed as the school's seventh president in 1979. He has been Fairfield's longest serving leader, presiding over the school for 25 years. During his tenure, the relatively young school enjoyed a period of expansive growth. This period saw the construction of dozens of new campus buildings, the addition of multiple new undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and an increase the institution's endowment from under $2 million in 1979 to $131 million by 2003.
Under Kelley, the School of Engineering was formed after the acquisition of Bridgeport Engineering Institute in August 1994, offering both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The university was accepted as a member institution into Phi Beta Kappa in 1995.
In 2004, Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J. became the eighth president of the university, having served as an administrator at fellow Jesuit institutions in Georgetown University and Fordham University prior. That year von Arx launched the capital campaign, "Our Promise: The Campaign for Fairfield University," which raised a then record of $137.9 million. The capital raised resulted in the construction and renovation of seven buildings, the creation of four new academic chairs, and the significant increase in the university's endowment. In October 2006, the school opened the Aloysius P. Kelley. S.J. Center, named in honor of its longtime president. The building in the center of campus is an environmentally friendly welcoming center and administrative center.
| Years | President |
| 1942–1944 | John J. McEleney |
| 1944–1951 | James H. Dolan |
| 1951–1958 | Joseph D. FitzGerald |
| 1958–1964 | James E. FitzGerald |
| 1964–1973 | William C. McInnes |
| 1973–1979 | Thomas R. Fitzgerald |
| 1979–2004 | Aloysius P. Kelley |
| 2004–2016 | Jeffrey P. von Arx |
| 2016–2017 | Lynn M. Babington |
| 2017–present | Mark R. Nemec |
After a twelve-year tenure, von Arx announced he would be leaving his position in 2016. A national search for his replacement followed,
and on July 1, 2017, the school announced the appointment of Mark R. Nemec, who became the first lay president in the history of the university. Prior to Fairfield, Nemec was the Dean of the Graham School of Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Chicago.
Academics
Fairfield University is composed of five schools and colleges: the John Charles Meditz College of Arts and Sciences, the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, the School of Engineering, the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, and the School of Education and Human Development.| School | Founded |
| John Charles Meditz College of Arts and Sciences | 1942 |
| School of Education and Human Development | 1950 |
| Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies | 1970 |
| Charles F. Dolan School of Business | 1978 |
| School of Engineering | 1994 |
The university offers 43 majors and 19 minors for undergraduate students, as well as 41 different graduate programs. In 2016–17, the university awarded 930 bachelor's degrees, 367 master's degrees, and 36 doctoral degrees. Since 1993, 65 Fairfield students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships.
Academic and spiritual centers at the university include the Center for Social Impact, the Center for Catholic Studies, the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality, and the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.
Among undergraduates, the most popular majors ranked in order of popularity are Nursing, Finance, Marketing, Accounting, Communication, Psychology, Biology, and English. The current freshman retention rate is 90%, and the four year graduation rate among the most recent graduating class was 83%.
In the fall of 2017, the faculty to student ratio was 12:1. The average class size was 22 students and 80% of classes had under 30 students in them. There were 270 full-time and 319 part-time faculty members. Of the full-time faculty, 90% had a doctorate, 3% had a terminal master's, and 7% had a master's.
Rankings
The university was tied for 132rd overall for 2025 among "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report, 45th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching", second for "Most Innovative", and 131st for "Best Value" in the National category. In 2021, Washington Monthly ranked Fairfield University 122nd among 614 Master's universities in the U.S. based on its contribution to the public good, as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.Undergraduate admissions
According to U.S. News & World Report, Fairfield is deemed a "More Selective" university. The school accepts the Common Application for admission. In the Fall of 2010, the school moved to a "test optional" admissions policy but recommended scheduling an interview for students who do not submit standardized test scores. Approximately 90% of students receive some type of financial assistance. Fairfield has the lowest percentage of Pell Grant recipients of any college in the United States.For fall 2019, Fairfield received 12,315 freshmen applications; 7,035 were admitted, and 1,176 enrolled. The average GPA of the enrolled freshmen was 3.64, while the middle 50% range of composite SAT scores were 1220–1340, 610–670 for evidence-based reading and writing, and 600–680 for math. The middle 50% range of the ACT composite score was 26–30.
Region and campus
The Fairfield University campus area is a census-designated place ; it first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 Census with a population of 2,884.Town of Fairfield
Fairfield University is located in Fairfield, Connecticut, a coastal town along Long Island Sound. It is less than 60 miles from New York City and approximately 1 hour 20 minutes away by Metro-North Railroad. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404. Fairfield is known for its historic downtown, and its beaches - Jennings and Penfield Beach - which are only a few miles from the university campus.Main campus
Fairfield's campus consists of 35 buildings anchored by the three manor homes of the original estates: Bellarmine Hall, formerly the Lashar's 'Hearthstone Hall', renamed to honor Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J; McAuliffe Hall, originally O.G. Jennings' 'Mailands', renamed for Bishop Maurice F. McAuliffe, who sanctioned the creation of Fairfield University; and David J. Dolan House, Lawrence Jenning's 'Larribee', dedicated to honor the uncle of Charles F. Dolan who made the 1989 acquisition of Dolan Campus possible.Bellarmine Hall, the main administration building on campus, is named in honor of Saint Robert Bellarmine, S.J. Many of the classrooms and residence halls on the campus are named in honor of Jesuit priests. Behind each building name is a story of a Jesuit priest who was an exemplar of the Jesuit mission and their pursuit of educational and intellectual contributions, human rights, and social justice.
The Barone Campus Center, is the home for student life including the Tully Dining Commons, the Oak Room, the Main Dining Hall, offices for FUSA, StagCard, WVOF, Residence Life, and Student Affairs.
Built in 1968, the DiMenna-Nyselius Library originally was named the Nyselius Library in honor of benefactors Gustav and Dagmar Nyselius. They were Swedish immigrants who had settled in Stamford and wanted to make a donation to Fairfield University. In 2001, the Library underwent a major renovation and expansion and was renamed the DiMenna-Nyselius Library in recognition of a donation from alumnus Joseph A. DiMenna, Jr. '80.
The campus is home to Fairfield College Preparatory School, which is a 900-student all-male preparatory high school that has been aligned with the college since its founding in 1942. It is located at the southeastern corner of the campus, near the entrance on North Benson Road.