Ave Maria University

College: 1998

Ave Maria University (AMU) is a private Catholic university in Southwest Florida, United States, founded in 2003. The university moved to its permanent campus, situated in the planned town of Ave Maria, 17 miles (27 km) east of Naples, Florida, in August 2007. Ave Maria University shares its history with the former Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which was founded in 1998 and closed in 2007.

Tom Monaghan, Ave Maria's founder, made his fortune by starting Domino's Pizza in 1960. He was criticized in the press for proposing that contraceptives and pornography be banned from the university and the surrounding area. In 2007, Monaghan drew criticism from Catholics both inside and outside the university when he removed theologian Joseph Fessio as provost.

The current enrollment of Ave Maria University is 1,072 students, with 1,019 undergraduate students and 53 graduate students on its campus. The university has seen major growth in recent years and hopes to grow to an enrollment of 1,500 by the year 2020, though President Towey reportedly has guessed the 1,500 student enrollment target could come as early as 2017. The university had a satellite campus in Nicaragua called the Ave Maria University-Latin American Campus, but sold the campus to Keiser University in July 2013. Ave Maria ran the Nicaraguan campus for 13 years. Ave Maria University fields athletic teams known as the Gyrenes. It is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and competes within The Sun Conference.

Academically, the university is rated in "Tier 2" by U.S. News & World Report, below 178 other liberal arts colleges in the US. It is included in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. In 2015, College Factual ranked Ave Maria University as a Top 10 college in the state of Florida. In December 2015, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools renewed Ave Maria University's accreditation.