Rev. Fr. Boniface Hardin, O.S.B. and Sister Jane Schilling, CSJ founded Martin University in 1977. Martin University’s original mission to serve low-income, minority, and adult learners has not changed, although students from all backgrounds have always been welcomed. While the majority of our students are over the age of 25, we are continually enrolling a growing number of younger students.
The original campus was located at 35th Street and College Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana. It moved to its current location on North Sherman Drive in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, in 1987. Housed initially in buildings once occupied by St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and Elementary School, the campus grew to include other structures in the immediate area. In 2000, the University began construction of its first new building, the $10 million Educational Center. The Center and the beautiful Peace Garden connects the former St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church and the Dr. Andrew J. Brown Building, which opened in the summer of 2001.