At a time when young women were generally excluded from higher education, Mother Irene Gill, O.S.U., believed that Catholic women in New York must be afforded access to college. This conviction led her to found the College of St. Angela — the first Catholic college for women in New York State — in 1904. The first class of students comprised 12 women, all of whom lived and attended class within Leland Castle.
The school’s name was changed to The College of New Rochelle in 1910, and as the school grew, its programs evolved to meet the changing educational needs brought about by contemporary events. The first B.S. degree program was established around the time of World War I. During the Great Depression, career preparation became more essential than ever; a concentration in Secretarial Studies was inaugurated and a Vocational Bureau was established to provide career counseling and job placement for students and alumnae. In response to World War II, the College developed new offerings including courses in motor mechanics, Morse code, and civil defense.