The school, initially named Rivier College, was founded in 1933 as by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in Hudson, New Hampshire. The congregation named the college in honor of its founder, Anne-Marie Rivier.[1] In 1941, the college moved to its present campus location in Nashua.[3] The university was incorporated in 1935 and granted the authority to offer both graduate and undergraduate level programs.[4] The university is dedicated to Anne Marie Rivier's mission of Catholic social teaching and serving the economically disadvantaged.[4]
In 1991, the college became coeducational, admitting its first male undergraduate students. Rivier College was renamed Rivier University on July 1, 2012.[7]
In 1994, Rivier was sued in federal court by Mary Nedder, an assistant professor of religious studies at Rivier, under the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) after the university declined to renew her contract because of her weight.[8][9] Sister Jeanne Perreault, the President of Rivier at the time, allegedly made her views about overweight faculty known and in a report circulated among the faculty stated that "fat teachers do not get much respect from students."[8] Nedder won her lawsuit and was reinstated.[8]
Presidents of Rivier University
Presidents
Term of office
1.
Madeleine of Jesus
1933 - 1946
2.
St. Pascal
1947 - 1953
3.
Marie-Carmella
1953 – 1955
4.
Adelard-Marie
1955 – 1957
5.
Clarice Dion
1957 – 1969
6.
Gloria Lemieux
1969 – 1973
7.
Doris Benoit
1974 – 1980
8.
Jeanne Perreault
1980 – 1997
9.
Lucille Thibodeau
1997 – 2001
10.
William Farrell
2001 - 2011
11.
Paula Marie Buley
2011–present
Campus
Rivier University's campus consists of 44 buildings spread over 68 acres (28 ha) in Nashua. It has four residence halls—Trinity, Guild, Presentation, and Brassard—which accommodate 421 students.[10]
Rivier offers intercollegiate club sports and has a student activities office, a multicultural office, counseling center, career development center, and campus ministry. Rivier has a chapter of Habitat for Humanity. There is a Model United Nations Club, a Business Club, a Biology Club, an Alliance Club (Gay-Straight Alliance), and numerous other organizations. Club membership is open to any interested student. Student clubs and activities are student-run, some with faculty advisors. Club funding is delineated through the school's Student Government Association.
Academics
Rivier University enrolls approximately 2,500 students. It includes the school of undergraduate studies, which includes traditional day programs, a professional studies division for undergraduate online and evening programs, and the school of graduate studies.[1] Rivier is a member of the New Hampshire College & University Council,[11] a consortium of institutions of higher learning. The university offers traditional courses, online courses, and hybrid courses.
Athletics
Rivier University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III.[12] The Raiders are a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball.
In 2020, Marika Lyszczyk, a player from Canada, became the first woman to catch in a men's college baseball game while playing for Rivier University.[13]
