Exc!te – Office of Student Activities
Exc!te sponsors wholesome, Christian entertainment with on-campus events such as concerts, movie nights, theme dinners, Franciscan Homecoming/Parents’ Weekend festivities, and formal dances. In addition, Exc!te arranges off-campus opportunities and entertainment, usually in nearby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or Wheeling, West Virginia.
Exc!te assists student organizations and households in the planning, management, and evaluation of programs and organizational activities that meet the wide variety of student needs and interests. Exc!te serves all University students by offering fun entertainment as well as rewarding learning experiences outside of the classroom.
Exc!te encourages student leadership and provides opportunities for students to be involved with campus-wide social activities. It is designed to promote a higher level of commitment and provides students with the tools to be excellent leaders and event planners.
Exc!te welcomes all students who wish to volunteer or participate in its sponsored events. Further information about Exc!te is available in the Exc!te Office on the ground floor of the J. C. Williams Center.
Graduate and Non-Traditional Student Outreach
Graduate and Non-Traditional Student Outreach plans spiritual, educational, and social events that help graduate and non-traditional students meet and network with each other and integrate into University life. A Non-Traditional Student is considered an undergraduate student 22 years of age or older. Graduate and Non-Traditional Student Outreach operates under the direction of Student Life. For more information, contact: gradnontrad@franciscan.edu.
Households
Faith Households are Spirit empowered, Christ-led groups of three or more Franciscan University students of the same sex who seek to do the will of the Father in their lives. These communities desire to help members grow in body, mind and spirit through mutual support and accountability in the ongoing conversion process exemplified in the life of St. Francis. Through the relationships found in Households, individuals are transformed and develop their capacity to be an evangelizing presence in the University, the Catholic Church and the world.
Intercollegiate Athletics
Franciscan University offers Christ-centered intercollegiate NCAA Division III varsity programs that focus on the intellectual, physical, and spiritual growth of student-athletes. Varsity sports currently include M/W basketball, M/W cross country, M/W Lacrosse, M/W soccer, women’s swimming and diving, M/W tennis, M/W track & field, softball, women’s volleyball, and men’s rugby. Franciscan University is a member of the NCAA Division III, and a member of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Franciscan’s rugby team is a member of the Three Rivers Rugby Conference in the National Small College Rugby Organization, under FUSA Rugby.
Intramural Sports
With numerous rivalries in flag football, volleyball, basketball, FUTSAL (soccer), and ultimate Frisbee there is always tough competition going into every season. Intramural sports give students the opportunity to play with their friends and compete on an intense level, while still having fun.
Liturgical Ministries
Every student at Franciscan University is invited to participate in Chapel Ministry. There are a variety of ministries available that allow students to use their gifts and talents to glorify God through serving at liturgical celebrations.
The Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all the Church’s power flows (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #10). In Liturgical celebrations each one who has an office to perform, whether minister or laypersons should do all of, but only, those parts which pertain to that office by nature of the rite and principles of liturgy. Servers, readers, commentators, and members of the choir also exercise a genuine liturgical function. They ought to discharge their office, therefore, with the sincere devotion and decorum demanded by so exalted a ministry and rightly expected of them by God’s people. Consequently they must all be deeply imbued with the spirit of the liturgy, in the measure proper to each one, and they must be trained to perform their functions in a correct and orderly manner (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #28, 29). Ministries available for students include sacristans, altar servers, readers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, ushers, music, sound, and Martha and Mary Ministry.
Missions of Peace
Missions of Peace is an outreach of Franciscan University that sponsors domestic and international mission trips during semestral breaks. Students generously share their time and talent while on mission through various evangelistic and service outreaches, including youth ministries, chastity presentations, prayer services, home improvement projects, village ministries, medical outreaches, and other apostolic endeavors. In effect, students desire to be instruments of the Lord in promoting the Culture of Life. These missionary efforts are one way the University lives out the mandate of Ex corde Ecclesiae that Catholic universities serve as “a living institutional witness to Christ and His message.” In order to advertise, fundraise, or operate on campus, a mission trip must be formally approved by the director of Missionary Outreach.
S.E.N.T. Ministry (Student Evangelization Network Teams)
S.E.N.T. Ministry is an outreach of Franciscan University that promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ through retreat ministry. Students train to give weekend retreats, youth rallies, and Confirmation day retreats each semester as part of S.E.N.T. The ministry operates under the director of Missionary Outreach, main floor, J. C. Williams Center.
The Troubadour
The Troubadour is the University’s student newspaper and operates under the direction of the Communication Arts Department. The newspaper is produced online weekly and in printed version every other week. This publication seeks to promote Franciscan University’s way of life and serves as a communication vehicle for the student body. The Troubadour office is located on the ground floor of the J. C. Williams Center.
Works of Mercy
Works of Mercy is an outreach of Franciscan University that promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ through corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Through involvement in community outreaches and projects, students dedicate themselves to serving the poor and needy of the Ohio Valley in the following outreaches: nursing home ministry, ministry to the poor, sick, and needy, and ministry to the youth. Works of Mercy operates under the director of Missionary Outreach, main floor, J. C. Williams Center.