February 8th
The relocation of the College in 1966 to suburban Pepper Pike culminated a ten-year planning program inaugurated by Mother Marie Sands, OSU, then president of the College. Photo courtesy ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø Archives
Home / Inside Ursuline / History / ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø History | Ursuline - Liberal Arts College in OH
¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø students today inherit the legacy of remarkable, pioneering women who founded the College and championed women's higher education over the course of 150 years.
The history of the College is a part of the history of the Ursuline Sisters who came to Cleveland in 1850 from their native France to establish the first religious teaching community in Cleveland.
Recognizing the special need for an institution of higher education for women, Mother Mary of the Annunciation Beaumont, the first superior of the Cleveland Ursulines and the founder of ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø, obtained a charter from the state of Ohio to establish a college "to confer, on the recommendation of the faculty, such degrees and honors as are conferred by colleges and universities in the United States." ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø thus became one of the first Catholic women's colleges in the United States organized and chartered explicitly for the purpose of college education.
¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø was also the first chartered Catholic college for women in Ohio. Enrollment was open to the public of all races and creeds who qualified scholastically.
Over the years, ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø has anticipated the changes in women's careers and developed programs to meet their evolving needs. With a mission rooted in tradition, women are heard and valued at ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø.
The relocation of the College in 1966 to suburban Pepper Pike culminated a ten-year planning program inaugurated by Mother Marie Sands, OSU, then president of the College. Photo courtesy ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø Archives
In 1968, the College was separately incorporated as an independent, non-profit organization with the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland continuing to serve as the institution's religious sponsor. In January, 1969, the Board of Trustees for the College was formed.
In July, 1975, the Division of Nursing of Saint John College of Cleveland transferred to ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø and became the Ursuline Center for Nursing. Today, it is one of the College's three academic schools: Breen School of Nursing, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
In 1982, ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø began offering graduate programs with the inauguration of a Master of Arts in Educational Administration. Today, the College also offers graduate study in Counseling and Art Therapy, Education, Historic Preservation, Liberal Studies, Ministry, Business Management and Nursing.
In 1997 ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø began offering an accelerated nursing degree program for working adults (UCAP). ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø also has accelerated degree programs for students who already have an RN, or a bachelor's degree in something other than nursing, but are interested in earning a BSN degree.
In 2010 Ursuline's Breen School of Nursing initiated its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. This program focuses on the development of nurse leaders who use evidence-based practice for optimizing health care delivery through effective systems transformation.
The ¿ì²¥³ÉÈËÍø Athletic Department joins the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, which is comprised of institutions in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The Ursuline Arrows currently compete in 17 intercollegiate sports including 16 sports competing at the NCAA Division II level.
