АҚШ-тағы Католик Университеті: Авила Университеті

Catholic university in Kansas City, Missouri, US
the university in the United States

Avila University '/æ//v//ᵻ//l//ə/ is a private Roman Catholic university in Kansas City, Missouri. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and offers bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. Its 13 buildings are situated on a campus of in Kansas City. The school enrolled 1,527 students in 2019. In 1939, Kansas City Bishop Edwin O'Hara announced that St. Teresa's junior college would be expanded to a full four year college, and the college would be housed in its own building on the campus. In 1940, ground was broken for Donnelly Hall, and it opened for classes in 1941. The first four year graduating class received their degrees in 1942. In 1948, the college established a department of nursing, offering both a three year diploma and a four year bachelor of nursing degree.

Avila's campus sits on in southern Kansas City, Missouri. There are 13 buildings that include four residence halls, a fieldhouse, theatre, student union, library, as well as academic buildings. The campus is easily accessed from I 435 and sits close to the Missouri Kansas border.

Student life at Avila is quite active with more than 40 student organizations available to the student body, including the Student Senate, Group Activities Programming, Black Student Union, Student Social Work Association, Residence Hall Association, Campus Ministries, and numerous academic organizations and honor societies. Avila University currently does not have any fraternities or sororities on campus. In the mid 1990s, Avila had a chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and a chapter of Alpha Phi sorority; however, as a result of poor support from the university administration, both Greek chapters closed shortly before the college achieved university status.

Carondelet Hall was the first residence hall built at the current Avila University location. Carondelet houses up to 122 students at its maximum capacity. In the summer of 2005, the first two floors of the hall were renovated to fit the more modern version of a residence hall. In the summer of 2007, the third floor was also renovated. Ridgway Hall was built only a few years after Carondelet Hall, and has the same floor plan and room dimensions. In the summer of 2008, all three floors in Ridgway were renovated in a similar manner as Carondelet. Jeanne Collins Thompson Hall opened in the fall of 2007. The 29,000 square foot Thompson Hall features three floors of suite style housing with each suite containing four bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, and kitchenette. The facility houses 65 students and staff in the 16 suites. In fall 2012, Avila celebrated the opening of its fourth residence hall, Avila Hall (later dedicated as Glenna Wylie Hall), a 39,000 square foot three story residence hall on the northeast edge of campus. The residence hall features suite style living arrangements, and it increased Avila's capacity to allow up to 390 students living on campus.

The Avila athletic teams are called the Eagles (formerly known as the "Avalanche" until 1990). The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 2018–19 academic year. The Eagles previously competed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) from 2000–01 to 2017–18; as well as in the defunct Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC) from 1994–95 to 1999–2000. Avila competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, football, soccer and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling. Avila also has award winning cheerleading and dance teams.

In 1999, Avila announced the addition of intercollegiate football to the athletic program, and the sport began its first season of competition in the fall of 2001. In 2011, the athletic complex was expanded to provide facilities for football and soccer games to be played on campus. A 194,000 square foot multi purpose athletic field was constructed, featuring a Shaw Sportexe Legion synthetic turf system. The field included a new press box, new bleachers, and a Daktronics scoreboard. Avila's football team played its first on campus game on September 17, 2011, against Missouri Valley College. In the 2020 2021 fall season, the Avila football team, led by alum coach Marc Benavidez, won their first conference championship by winning their final 8 games of the season. In the 2022 2023 season, Benavidez would lead the football team to its first ever NAIA playoff appearance.