Дубук қаласындағы Кларк университеті

Catholic university in Dubuque, Iowa, US

Clarke University is a private Catholic university in Dubuque, Iowa. It was founded in 1843 as St. Mary's Female Academy by Mother Mary Frances Clarke, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The campus sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and downtown Dubuque. Clarke offers undergraduate degrees in 19 academic departments with over 40 majors and programs. The university also provides graduate master's and doctoral degrees and enrolls approximately 1,200 students.

What is now known as Clarke University was established in 1843 as St. Mary's Female Academy by Irish emigrant Mother Mary Frances Clarke, the founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was one of the first such schools for women built west of the Mississippi River. In 1881, St. Mary's moved to its present location atop Dubuque's Seminary Hill (Clarke Drive) and was renamed Mount St. Joseph Academy and College. The college became a liberal arts school in 1901, and the first bachelor's degree was awarded in 1904. In 1910, Mt. St. Joseph was chartered by the state of Iowa, becoming a four year college by 1913. The North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited Mount St. Joseph in 1918. The academy portion of the school closed in 1928 and the college was renamed Clarke College to honor Mary Frances Clarke and her vision for the college written in 1884 to her community of sisters, almost all of whom were instructors: "Let us keep our schools progressive with the times in which we live In teaching, we must endeavor to make [students] think."

Clarke sits on a campus located atop a prominent hill in Dubuque. The college consists of 16 buildings, an athletic field, and features large, grassy knolls along the south and east sides of campus for areas of study and recreation. The grounds are bounded by West Locust Street on the south, Clarke Crest Court on the north, Clarke Crest Drive on the east, and North Grandview Avenue on the west. Clarke Drive is the "main street" through the campus, bisecting it into "north" and "south" sides. Of Clarke's 16 buildings, 15 are located along Clarke Drive, making it a very walkable campus.

The Clarke athletic teams are called the Pride. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 2016–17 academic year, after spending a season as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2015–16 school year (as well as during the 2006–07 school year when the school re joined the NAIA). The Pride previously competed in the defunct Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) from 2007–08 to 2014–15 (when the conference dissolved), which they were a member on a previous stint from 1988–89 to 1995–96. Clarke was also a member of the defunct Northern Illinois Iowa Conference (NIIC) of the NCAA Division III ranks from 1996–97 to 2005–06. Clarke University women's basketball team was the 2022 23 NAIA national champion, defeating defending champion Thomas Moore University 63 52.

The University is located west of downtown Dubuque and served by The Jule transit system. The Orange Route stops on Clarke Drive and Locust Street connecting the university to downtown Dubuque.