The History of Villanova University

Villanova University has been sponsored by the Augustinian Order since its founding in 1842. Today, the University is comprised of five colleges: Liberal Arts and Sciences (Villanova College), Engineering, Commerce and Finance, Nursing and the School of Law. The University traces its origins to old St. Augustine's Church in Philadelphia, which the Augustinians founded in 1796, and to its parish school, St. Augustine's Academy, established in 1811.

Villanova College (1842)

In October 1841, two Augustinians from St. Augustine's Church in Philadelphia, Father Thomas Kyle and Father Patrick Moriarty purchased "Belle Air" in Radnor Township with the intention of starting a school. The property belonged to the estate of John Rudolph whose wife, Jane Lloyd Rudolph, was a close friend of the Augustinians who served at St. Augustine's. The Augustinians were frequent visitors to Belle Air, having celebrated Mass in the Rudolphs' home for Catholics in the area. A few years after John Rudolph's death in 1838, Jane Rudolph generously agreed to sell the estate to the Augustinians for $18,000, well below its reported worth of $40,000.

Legal title to the property, comprising approximately 200 acres with the mansion and outbuildings, was conveyed in 1843. The school was called the "Augustinian College of Villanova" and placed under the patronage of St. Thomas of Villanova, a sixteenth-century Augustinian theologian, educator and bishop of Valencia, Spain. The college gave its name to the town that eventually grew up around it.

The Augustinians hoped Villanova would become a center for the renewal of Augustinian religious life, a place where they could receive novices for the Order and educate candidates for the priesthood, and an academy for boys. Although men of vision, the early Augustinians could have no idea of the hardships they would endure or even of how successful their project would become. Whether they had an indication that they had become part of a national movement that began in the early and mid-nineteenth century to found institutions of higher learning is a matter of conjecture. The evidence suggests that these Augustinians knew their future lay in education, as they had established, briefly, an academy at St. Augustine's in 1811. Other religiously affiliated educational institutions were also being established in the Philadelphia area.

Father John Possidius O'Dwyer was named President, and the classes for the new college began on 18 September 1843. The class of thirteen students embarked on a traditional liberal arts curriculum taught by Father O'Dwyer, two other Augustinians, Father Francis Ashe and Father William Hartnett, a diocesan priest, Father Florimond Bondue, and two laymen, Mr. E. A. Ansley, and Mr. William Dalton. At the outset, however, difficulties plagued the new college. The anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant "Know Nothing" riots in Philadelphia in 1844 resulted in the burning of St. Augustine's Church. The need to rebuild the church and maintain the new college created a financial crisis for the Order. As a result, the College closed its doors on 20 February 1845. It was able to reopen in September 1846, with a student population of twenty-four, and the first commencement took place on 21 July 1847. The following year, on 10 March 1848, the Governor of Pennsylvania, Francis R. Shunk, signed the Act of Legislature incorporating "The Augustinian College of Villanova in the State of Pennsylvania for the education of persons in the various branches of science, literature and ancient and modern languages," and conferring on Villanova College "the power to grant and confirm such degrees in the Arts and Sciences."

In 1857, Villanova College closed for a second time. Demands on the services of priests through the expansion of parishes in the area created staffing problems for the Augustinians, while the "Panic of 1857" brought on hard economic times. The Civil War in 1861 affected student enrollment and the College was not reopened until September 1865. In the years that followed, the College prospered, increasing its student population and adding significantly to its physical facilities.

The first great expansion of Villanova began in the late 1890s under Father John J. Fedigan, who served as President and, later, as the Provincial of the Augustinians. Father Fedigan wanted Villanova to be a college that would "rank among the best in the United States." He embarked on an ambitious building campaign that resulted in the construction of new college buildings, improved dormitories, expanded recreational facilities, and the acquiring of new instructional equipment.

Although in the first fifty years of its existence Villanova College concentrated exclusively on the liberal arts, it nevertheless remained open to the changes in the curriculum which were required to meet the needs of the time and the demands for specialization. The School of Technology was established in 1905 under the presidency of Father Laurence Delurey and, in 1915, a two-year pre-medical program was established under the presidency of Father Edward C. Dohan, in recognition of the new requirements for candidates wishing to matriculate in approved medical schools. This, in turn, led to the establishment of a four-year pre-medical program, the B.S. in biology, and the founding of the sciences division in 1926 under Father Joseph M. Dougherty, who became the first dean. Father Dougherty, a recognized authority on the Mendelian Laws of Heredity, was also instrumental in establishing the University's prestigious Mendel Medal, which honors the memory of Gregor Mendel, the Augustinian Abbot and discoverer of the laws of heredity, and recognizes the research of accomplished scientists whose lives demonstrate religious conviction.

Beginning in 1918, the College offered programs to women religious, in large part to assist in their preparation to teach in the parochial school system, and to lay women. Evening classes, open to both men and women, were held first at Hallahan High School, in Philadelphia, and then on the main campus. The first degree was granted to a laywoman in 1938. The presence of women on a full-time basis on the main campus, however, only became permanent with the opening of the College of Nursing as an autonomous unit in1953. The move toward receiving women as full-time students on the main campus took another major step when the College of Engineering admitted its first female student in 1958 and the other academic divisions were allowed to admit women as commuters.

The Great Depression posed new challenges to Villanova. The College was fortunate to have as its president Father Edward V. Stanford (1932 -1944) who had held various positions in national and regional higher education organizations. Enrollments had plummeted in the 1930s and Father Stanford realized that if the College was to survive, it needed to emphasize quality in the curriculum, implement extensive administrative reorganization, and raise funds for scholarships and the endowment. Although World War II intervened, Father Stanford's efforts met with measurable success. Under his successor, Father Francis X. N. McGuire (1944-1954), Villanova experienced its great post-war expansion. With the number of returning veterans, enrollments increased dramatically and the size of faculty grew fourfold. Additional facilities were built and in 1953, the College of Nursing and the School of Law were established. In recognition of its enhanced academic programs and reputation, Villanova achieved university status on 18 November 1953.

In 1968, Villanova became coeducational under the presidency of Father Robert J. Welsh (1967-1971). Father Welsh was previously dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and later president of the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. Under Father John Driscoll (1975-1988), Villanova embarked on a campaign to become a nationally recognized university. During the 1970s and 1980s, the quality of both the faculty and student body improved dramatically and international studies programs were introduced. Residential and recreational facilities were constructed and efforts to increase the endowment were undertaken. Full-scale university planning was initiated and, in an effort to affirm Villanova's mission as a Catholic, Augustinian institution, the University Mission Statement was adopted in 1979.

The efforts to improve academic quality that were initiated by Father Driscoll continue under Father Edmund J. Dobbin, who assumed the presidency in 1988. Under his direction, Villanova's strategic plan, A Future of Promise, A Future of Excellence, which followed upon the 1991 planning efforts, was promulgated in 1995. The plan reiterated the University's Catholic, Augustinian mission, its commitment to the liberal arts, and the need to augment its efforts to increase the endowment. Endowed chairs were established in theology, philosophy, engineering and business; scholarship funding was increased, and the curriculum expanded and improved. An extensive building campaign was also initiated that has resulted in new facilities for the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Commerce and Finance, and in impressive student residences on the south and the west campuses.

Today, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences continues to advance a comprehensive core curriculum and a variety of educational programs on both the undergraduate and graduate levels that include some twenty-six majors and minors. Programs in Ethics, Women's Studies, Peace and Justice and Criminal Justice, as well as area studies concentrations in Latin American Studies, Arab and Islamic Studies, Russian Area Studies, and Irish Studies, are also offered. All of the College's programs are aimed at the total growth of the individual and prepare students for viable careers. In keeping with its central place in a Catholic university, the College endeavors to provide a Christian intellectual and moral environment, and draws upon the dynamic legacy of St. Augustine whose passionate pursuit of wisdom inspires its own quest for knowledge in open, rational, responsible and mutually respectful interaction of points of view. The College has sheltered the Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa since 1986, an honor conferred primarily in recognition of outstanding scholarly achievement in the liberal arts and sciences.

College of Engineering (1905)

The second degree-granting unit inaugurated at Villanova University was the College of Engineering, which began instruction in 1905 under the name of the School of Technology. It was the fourth engineering program to be established at a Catholic school of higher education in the United States (after The Catholic University of America, 1896, Manhattan College, 1896, and the University of Notre Dame, 1897). Dr. A. B. Carpenter, a graduate of Lehigh, was hired in 1904 to organize and direct the School. He was ably assisted by Rev. James J. Dean, a young faculty member in the sciences. It was their responsibility to develop the curricula, hire faculty and plan the facilities needed. Programs in Civil and Electrical Engineering were the first to be initiated, with a total of twelve students enrolled. In 1908 an undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering was established, and in 1909 the first engineering bachelors degrees were awarded. An undergraduate program in Chemical Engineering was established in 1919. In the years following the Second World War, the College expanded its degree offerings to the masters level, establishing graduate programs in each of its four engineering departments. A fifth undergraduate degree program in Computer Engineering was added in 1993. All of the College's undergraduate degree programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). In the 1990s, research units were established in the areas of advanced communications and environmental engineering.

The College of Engineering strives to prepare its graduates to understand their roles in a technological society, to make constructive contributions to it, and to provide ethical and moral leadership in their profession and communities. It accomplishes this by various methods, but primarily by integrating into the curriculum the values and morality of the University's Augustinian heritage, and by emphasizing the engineering design process. In addition to being professionally competent, graduates are expected to have an understanding of their professional and ethical responsibilities, the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context, and an appreciation of humanistic concepts in literature, the arts and philosophy.

College of Commerce and Finance (1922)

The College of Commerce and Finance was founded in 1922 by Father Joseph C. Bartley, who served as dean until his death in 1962. The College was reorganized in 1964 to meet the exigencies of the ever-changing business community. Today, it offers degrees in accountancy, economics, and business administration. Graduate programs include the MBA, and the Master of Tax and JD/MBA programs that are offered jointly with the Villanova Law School. The undergraduate business and MBA programs of the College are accredited by AACSB--the International Association for Management Education. In addition, the accounting program is separately accredited by AACSB and, as such, is among a select number of collegiate programs so designated. The College seeks to be a leader among business schools in fostering a learning environment that enables members of its community to develop the knowledge, experience, values and capabilities needed for a life time of learning consistent with the moral vision of St. Augustine. Strengthened by its liberal arts foundation, the College also strives to collaborate with the business and academic communities to create, share, and apply knowledge.

The College of Nursing (1953)

Nurses have been educated by Villanova since 1932 in response to the needs of hospital administrators for a program that would give registered nurses advanced education at the college level. In the fall of 1950, the University established, on campus, a Division of Nursing within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for part-time registered nursing students who wished to complete study for a bachelor's degree.

In 1953, consistent with national trends in nursing and health care, the Catholic hospitals in the Greater Philadelphia Area approached Villanova and requested that a basic nursing program leading to a bachelor's degree, which would admit high school students, be established. The curriculum was grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and designed to provide a sound theoretical foundation in nursing and clinical practice which would enhance the psycho-social, ethical and spiritual dimensions of patient care. Graduates would be prepared to sit for licensure as registered nurses and to advance their education at the graduate level. The new program, established during the tenure of Father Francis X. N. McGuire, began as an autonomous academic unit within the University. Students admitted to the program in the fall of that year, became the first full-time women undergraduates at Villanova. Two religious sisters, Sr. Alma Lawler, R.S.M. and Sr. Margarella O'Neill, O.S.F. were the first co-directors of the program which was the first of its kind under Catholic auspices in Pennsylvania. The College expanded its offerings in 1979 by establishing a Program in Continuing Education for practicing nurses and opened a Graduate Program leading to the masters degree in nursing in 1981. Currently, the tracks in the Graduate Program include: Nursing Education (1981), Clinical Case Management (1992), Nurse Anesthesia (1997), a joint program with the College of Commerce & Finance in Health Care Administration (1999), Nurse Practitioner preparation in Adult Health (1996), Pediatrics (1998) and Geriatrics (1999). All programs are fully accredited by the National League for Nursing.

The College is a tangible expression of the University's mission, traditions and commitment to human service and regards itself as responsible for the education of nurses within the framework of Christian beliefs and values and the heritage of the Order of St. Augustine. Through its varied programs, the College seeks to serve the health needs of society through the education of competent nurses prepared at the graduate and undergraduate levels and through the provision of continuing education for practicing nurses.

The School of Law (1953)

The idea for a law school at Villanova first surfaced in the 1920s, but was not realized until the physical expansion that took place at the University after World War II. In 1953, under the presidency of Father Francis X. N. McGuire, Eugene Lester Garey, a prominent New York lawyer, bequeathed to the University $1.2 million to establish a new law school. Harold Gill Reuschlein was appointed the first dean and, in 1957, Garey Hall, designed especially for the law school, was opened and dedicated. The School of Law was the first law school under Catholic auspices to be awarded a chapter of the Order of Coif, a national honor society devoted to the encouragement of high standards of legal scholarship, with chapters in leading schools of law throughout the country.

The School of Law's distinctive mission draws upon the Catholic tradition emphasizing the unique value of individual human lives and the endowment of free will. In addition, it upholds a tradition of academic freedom that draws upon the thought of St. Augustine to emphasize the value of critical, searching inquiry and open debate; is inspired by St. Thomas More, whose principled resistance to corruption has been an exemplar of integrity for centuries; and,motivated by St. Ives, who taught that a lawyer's vocation must include a sense of responsibility for the poor. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The School of Law has created a reputation for excellence in its curriculum and the academic achievements of its faculty and students.

Since its founding, Villanova has been privileged to mediate St. Augustine's vision of education as a community activity of scholars searching for truth in open discussion, commitment to ethical values, and dedication to social justice and human rights. This commitment is realized in its humanities programs, which are an integral part of the curriculum of each of its professional schools, and in the three essential characteristics of our Augustinian tradition: the relationship between mind and heart, the role of community, and the unity of knowledge. This commitment and tradition also provides the key for interpreting the Villanova's mission statement which states that the University is a community that "seeks to reflect the spirit of St. Augustine by the cultivation of knowledge, by respect for individual differences and by adherence to the principle that mutual love and respect should animate every aspect of University life."

Source:  The Mission and Heritage of Villanova University:
                Catholic and Augustinian, (2000), p.13-19.