Salve Regina University is a private Catholic liberal arts university in Newport, Rhode Island, founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy. Set on a stunning 80-acre campus in the historic Bellevue Avenue mansion district overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Salve Regina features some of the most dramatic residence halls of any university in the nation — many housed in Gilded Age mansions. The Seahawks compete in Division III athletics in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.