View source for Anna Maria College

{{Short description|Catholic college in Paxton, Massachusetts, US}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Anna Maria College
 | image                  = Annamaria college seal.png
| image_size = 150
 | motto                  = ''Lux et Veritas''
 | motto_lang             = la
 | mottoeng               = ''Light and Truth''
 | type                   = [[Private college]]
 | accreditation          = [[New England Commission of Higher Education|NECHE]]
 | established            = {{start date|1946|09|17}}
 | religious_affiliation  = [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] ([[Sisters of Saint Anne]])
 | academic_affiliation   = [[Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts|HECCMA]]
 | endowment              = $7.2 million (2022)<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=March 21, 2022 |title=Worcester area college endowments. Holy Cross pushes past $1 billion. |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2022/03/21/worcester-area-college-endowments-holy-cross-pushes-past-1-billion/9340818002/ |work=Worcester Telegram |access-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217164201/https://www.telegram.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegram.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2022%2F03%2F21%2Fworcester-area-college-endowments-holy-cross-pushes-past-1-billion%2F9340818002%2F |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | president              = Sean J. Ryan<ref>https://www.masslive.com/news/2025/03/new-president-named-at-central-mass-college-replacing-leader-of-10-years.html</ref>
 | academic_staff         = 42 full-time<br>145 part-time<ref>{{cite web |title=College Navigator - Anna Maria College |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=anna+maria&s=all&id=164492 |website=National Center for Education Statistics |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 1,104 (2019)
 | postgrad               = 333 (2019)
 | city                   = [[Paxton, Massachusetts|Paxton]]
 | state                  = Massachusetts
 | country                = United States
 | coordinates            = {{coord|42.3294|-71.9194|type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = [[Rural]], 190 acres
 | colors                 = {{Color box|#A52238}}{{Color box|#FFFFFF|}} Cardinal and white
 | athletics_nickname     = [[AMCATS]]
 | sporting_affiliations  = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division III|Division III]]<br>[[Great Northeast Athletic Conference|GNAC]]<br>[[Eastern Collegiate Football Conference|ECFC]]
 | mascot                 = 
 | website                = {{URL|https://annamaria.edu/|annamaria.edu}}
| logo = Anna Maria College logo.png
| logo_size = 150
}}

'''Anna Maria College''' is a [[Private college|private]] Catholic college in [[Paxton, Massachusetts]], United States. It was founded in 1946 as a [[women's college]], but has been [[coeducational]] since 1973. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

==History==
[[File:Socquet House at Anna Maria College.png|thumb|left|alt=View of Socquet Hall, the location of the Office of the President, in 2016.|View of Socquet Hall, the location of the Office of the President, in 2016]]

Anna Maria College was founded in 1946 as a [[women's college]] by the [[Sisters of Saint Anne]], after receiving formal approval from [[Richard Cushing]], the [[Archbishop of Boston]]. The original campus was in [[Marlborough, Massachusetts]]. In 1951, the college moved to its present location in Paxton.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Connell |first=Scott |date=January 6, 2021 |title=College Town: Anna Maria College marking 75th anniversary |url=https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/01/06/college-town-anna-maria-college-marks-75th-anniversary/6570042002/ |work=Worcester Telegram |access-date=April 13, 2022 |archive-date=August 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806011054/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2021/01/06/college-town-anna-maria-college-marks-75th-anniversary/6570042002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Four years later, accreditation by the [[New England Association of Schools and Colleges]] was issued.

In 1973, Anna Maria College became [[coeducational]] and began graduate degree programs a year later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://annamaria.edu/about/#fast-facts|title=About|access-date=2022-04-11|archive-date=2022-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520103552/https://annamaria.edu/about/#fast-facts|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 3, 1980, the Sisters of Saint Anne ceased involvement in running the school, and a Board of Trustees was established.

In 2004, the college established the [[Molly Bish]] Center for the Protection of Children and the Elderly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://annamaria.edu/academic-centers/molly-bish-center/|title=Molly Bish Center|access-date=2022-04-13|archive-date=2022-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817013431/https://annamaria.edu/academic-centers/molly-bish-center|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Academics==
Anna Maria College has an average annual enrollment of around 1,500 students, mostly undergraduate and graduate students, and some continuing education learners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://annamaria.edu/college-data/enrollment-dashboard/|title=Enrollment Dashboard|access-date=2022-04-11|archive-date=2022-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926193357/https://annamaria.edu/college-data/enrollment-dashboard/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rooted in the traditions of Catholic education, the college combines liberal arts and sciences education with career preparation.

The college is divided into four academic schools: the School of Business, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the School of Professional Studies.<ref>https://annamaria.edu/academics/schools-of-study/</ref>

==Athletics==
{{main|Anna Maria Amcats}}

Anna Maria College has thirteen [[NCAA Division III|Division III]] athletic teams, known as the AMCATS (Anna Maria College Athletic Team Sports), in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA), including men's baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and soccer; and women's basketball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and volleyball. The school is the first private college to be invited for core member status in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).<ref>https://www.mascac.com/news/2023-24_News/Anna_Maria_Announcement</ref> 

==Notable faculty==
[[File:Madonna Hall at Anna Maria College.png|thumb|right|alt=View of the Madonna Hall residences in 2016.|View of the Madonna Hall residences in 2016.]]

*[[Craig Blais]] (English)
*[[Mark Eshbaugh]] (art)
*[[Thomas Lewis (activist)|Thomas Lewis]] (art)
*[[Brian C. Mitchell|Brian Mitchell]] (history)

==Notable alumni==
* [[Geraldo Alicea]], member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]
* [[Catherine Cool Rumsey]], member of the [[Rhode Island Senate]]
* James M. Cummings, sheriff of [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts|Barnstable County]]
* [[Ed Davis (police commissioner)|Ed Davis]], Police Commissioner of the [[Boston Police Department]]
* [[Brendan Doherty]], Superintendent of the [[Rhode Island State Police]]
* [[Shawn Dooley]], member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]
* [[James J. Dwyer]], member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]
* [[William B. Evans]], Police Commissioner of the [[Boston Police Department]]
* [[Raymond Hull (politician)|Raymond Hull]], member of the [[Rhode Island House of Representatives]]
* [[Brian Patrick Kennedy]], member of the [[Rhode Island House of Representatives]]
* [[Frederica Williams]], President of the [[Whittier Street Health Center]]
* [[Steven Xiarhos]], member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{ccat}}
* {{oweb}}
* [https://www.goamcats.com/landing/index Athletics website]

{{Anna Maria College}}
{{COWC}}
{{Great Northeast Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{Eastern Collegiate Football Conference}}
{{Women's Colleges that are Coeducational}}
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[[Category:Anna Maria College]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1946]]
[[Category:Former women's universities and colleges in the United States]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Worcester County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Catholic universities and colleges in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities]]
[[Category:1946 establishments in Massachusetts]]