Christian Brothers University

Christian Brothers awarded the first post-secondary degree in the city in 1875.[6] LeMoyne College (one of the two constituent parts of present-day LeMoyne-Owen College) has a founding year of 1871, but it was an elementary and secondary school at the time. The city's largest university, the University of Memphis, was not founded until 1912. Although Rhodes College was founded in 1848, it did not move from Clarksville, Tennessee to Memphis until 1925.

Brother Maurelian was appointed the first president. His three terms as president totalled 31 years.

Christian Brothers University traces its origins to priest and educational innovator, St. John Baptist de la Salle.[7] De la Salle began a system of Christian schools in which teachers assist parents in the educational, ethical, and religious formation of their children. To continue his spiritual and pedagogical vision, de la Salle founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, known today as the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

The university has four schools:

• Gadomski School of Engineering
• Rosa Deal School of Arts
• School of Business
• School of Sciences

The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The university's Gadomski School of Engineering has four engineering programs, including Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, that are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

The university's education department is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), but it is currently on probation and could lose accreditation within one year. It's most recent visit in 2022 yielded 21 AFI's across licensure programs and 3 stipulations all relegated to the leadership (admin) program. [8]

As of March 2023, the PA (Physician's Assistant) Program is no longer accredited (https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation/accredited-programs/).

As a member of the Lasallian Consortium,[9] i.e. the seven Lasallian universities in the United States, CBU offers study abroad semesters in Australia, Brazil, China, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, and Spain.[10]

Christian Brothers University is located on a 75-acre (300,000 m²) wooded campus in the heart of Midtown, Memphis, four miles (6 km) east of Downtown. It is across from the Memphis Fairgrounds, home of the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, and diagonally positioned from the Cooper-Young Neighborhood.

The first building on campus, Kenrick Hall, constructed in 1939 as the original Christian Brothers High School, was demolished in 2015 to make room for the Rosa Deal School of Arts, set to open in January 2017. In 2021, CBU installed a manufactured building, which houses the nursing program. The campus includes the Rosa Deal School of Arts, Cooper Wilson Sciences Building, and the Benilde Hall Engineering Lab, which is currently being expanded, as well as sports facilities for basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, and softball.

The university's architecture follows the Georgian style popular at the time of the campus' relocation to East Parkway. Arch-covered walkways traverse the main campus, allowing students and faculty to get to most buildings shielded from the weather. The campus is enclosed by an iron fence with brick accents with entrances on East Parkway South, Central Avenue, and Avery Avenue. Security gates have been added to facilities on the northside of the campus in 2023.

• Barret School of Banking

Canale Arena, originally called De La Salle Gymnasium, was completed in 1950.[11] At that time, it was the largest indoor arena in the city of Memphis.[12]

The arena was fully renovated in 2004 and has a capacity of 1,000.[12]

CBU is an NCAA Division II team and a member of the Gulf South Conference. Buccaneer teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer. Lady Buccaneer teams include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, and volleyball.

The Lady Buccaneers and Buccaneers have won multiple athletic competitions, including the 2002 Division II women's soccer championship[13] and the 2008 GSC men's basketball championship.[14] The Men's Soccer Team has won back to back conference titles under coach Clint Browne during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

21% of male students and 24% of female students are members of fraternities and sororities[15]

Campus Greek councils include the Interfraternity Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Council (NPC), and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

Chapters of a number of honor societies exist at CBU to recognize excellence in academia and leadership. Active honor societies and their specialties include: Alpha Chi (general academic), Beta Beta Beta (biology), the Order of Omega (fraternity and sorority members), Phi Alpha Theta (history), Psi Chi (psychology), Sigma Tau Delta (English), Alpha Psi Omega (theatre), and Tau Beta Pi (engineering).[16]

Professional organizations include: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Electrical Engineers, Society of Physics Students, and the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society.[16]

• Harry B. Anderson – United States district judge for the Western District of Tennessee
• Charles Bartliff – soccer player and Olympian
• Zach Curlin – college basketball coach at University of Memphis
• Richard "Dick" Gadomski – Chemical Engineer, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist[17]
• Robert B. Hawley – U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district from 1897 to 1901 and accomplished businessman
• Thomas Aquinas Higgins – senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
• Bill Justis – rock and roll pioneer
• Youssef Naciri – Moroccan professional soccer player (most recently with Harrisburg City Islanders)
• David Parker – member of the Mississippi State Senate
• Malcolm R. Patterson – governor of Tennessee (1907–1911)
• Chip Saltsman – Republican political strategist and Presidential campaign manager
• Kevin H. Sharp – former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
• Ray Crone – former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Braves and New York Giants

• Arun Manilal Gandhi, scholar and peace activist
• Jeffrey Gros, Catholic theologian and ecumenist