St. Francis University is located in Cambria County, west central Pennsylvania.
In 1847, nearly fifteen years before the start of the Civil War, Pittsburgh Bishop Michael O'Connor invited six Franciscan friars from Ireland to establish a school and gave them the land for this purpose.
Soon after its humble beginnings, Saint Francis University was recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and given the authority to grant educational degrees. Historically, the University ranks as one of the first Catholic Universities in the nation, the first Franciscan college in the country, and one of the first Catholic Universities to become co-educational in the United States.
http://www.saintfrancisuniversity.ed...
Yesterday, a mock convention was held at SFU. The results, over the hump.
Here is the story from today's Johnstown Tribune-Democrat:
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/...
LORETTO — With all the hoopla of a national poli-tical convention, students at St. Francis University – staging their own mock Democratic convention – chose Sen. Barack Obama as their party’s nominee.
When the gavel came down adjourning the convention, Courtney Williams, acting as chairwoman, declared amid loud cheering by hundreds of convention-goers that Obama would be the next president of the United States.
Obama won by a wide margin, with 60 percent or 2,469 of the delegations’ votes to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 1,580 votes.
Gov. Ed Rendell was a late cancellation. Lee Hamilton delivered the Keynote Address.
Hamilton, an Obama supporter who told news reporters that he will support the party’s choice regardless of who wins the nomination, said that Republicans are vulnerable this year because of the GOP’s fiscal irresponsibility, a decline in the American economy, mismanagement of Iraq, allowing torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
Pointing to Friday’s reports of national job losses of 80,000 in March and 250,000 this year, Hamilton said, "That’s about as bad a record as I can recall."
Allyson Schwartz spoke for the Clinton camp.
U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Philadelphia/Montgomery County, said Clinton has the experience to lead the nation, an understanding of everyday issues and a determined ability to get things done.
Who were the delegates?
Most of the "delegates" were St. Francis students, but several came from nearby colleges, the Upward Bound program and even a half-dozen sixth-graders from the Foot-of-Ten Elementary School near Duncansville.
A history of the SFU mock convention can be found here:
http://www.saintfrancisuniversity.ed...