Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh oldest Jesuit university in the United States, one of 27 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, and the fourth largest university in Philadelphia. It is named after the earthly father of Jesus, Saint Joseph. On June 1, 2022, Saint Joseph's University acquired University of the Sciences (a/k/a USciences and f/k/a Philadelphia College of Pharmacy), adding professional programs in health and science, including occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy and physician assistant (as USciences had offered more than 30 degree and certification programs across a wide range of pharmaceutical and healthcare-related disciplines.). SJU can now trace its history to February of 1821 when Philadelphia College of Pharmacy was conceived by 68 apothecaries who met in Philadelphia's Carpenters' Hall to establish improved scientific standards and to develop programs to train more competent apprentices and students. The apothecaries formalized their new association of pharmacists through a constitution, which declared their intent to establish a school of pharmacy to enhance their vocation and to "guard the drug market from the introduction of spurious, adulterated, deteriorated or otherwise mischievous articles, which are too frequently forced into it". Philadelphia College of Pharmacy was chartered in 1822, making it (and now SJU) the first institution of higher learning in the United States dedicated to the field of pharmacy. Saint Joseph's University presently (as a result of merger with USciences) educates nearly 9,000 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students each year.. The university offers over 135 undergraduate programs, 77 graduate programs, 9 adult learner programs, and experiential learning options, including cooperative education, internships, clinical rotations, Summer Scholars and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. It has 14 centers and institutes, including the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support and the Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Center for Business Ethics. Saint Joseph's athletics teams, the Hawks, are an NCAA Division I program, competing in the Atlantic-10 Conference and Philadelphia's Big 5. The official colors of the university are crimson and gray. The school mascot is The Hawk which never stops flapping its wings while in costume. From Wikipedia