The History of the University of Holy Cross
The University of Holy Cross has the distinction of being the only four-year University on the West Bank of New Orleans as well as one of eight Holy Cross colleges and universities nationwide. It has provided South Louisiana a tradition of academic excellence and has been setting the standard for quality education for nearly a century.
In the Beginning
The history of the University of Holy Cross dates to the 1841 founding of the Congregation of the Marianites of Holy Cross by Fr. Basil Anthony Moreau at Le Mans, France. Two years after their founding, some of the Sisters were ready to leave Le Mans and set up foundations in the New World. In 1848, several Marianites accepted the invitation of Archbishop Antoine Blanc to journey to New Orleans to work with the Holy Cross Brothers in administering the St. Mary’s Orphan Boys Asylum. Soon, the Sisters became disturbed at the plight of the young girls who were homeless and destitute as a result of yellow fever. In 1851, the Sisters began to build the Immaculate Conception Industrial School to instruct these orphan girls. The site of this school was in the Ninth Ward. In 1866, this school evolved into the Academy of Holy Angels, a high school for young girls and the parent school of the University of Holy Cross.
Preparing Teachers
To prepare teachers for the many schools the Marianites opened in South Louisiana, the Louisiana State Board of Education in 1916 granted the Marianites the right to open a Normal School, which functioned as Holy Cross Normal. The instruction received at this school assured the young students would be prepared according to the Louisiana State Norms of Education. In 1938, the Louisiana State Department of Education, again at the request of the Sisters, approved a program that would lead to the conferring of the Bachelor of Arts degree. The name of the school was then changed to The College Department of the Academy of Holy Angels, and the first graduation exercises were held in 1942. In 1947, the Ernest B. Norman family presented the Marianites with a gift of forty acres on the West Bank of the Mississippi River to be used for educational and religious purposes. In the early 1950s, lay women who were teaching in schools administered by the Marianites were admitted to the College. In the spring of 1960, the College moved to its new quarters and changed its name to Our Lady of Holy Cross College. In that year, the first lay student received her degree. In the early 1960s, women from both the public and the Archdiocesan schools began to enroll, and in 1967, the first men were admitted. The College was on its way to growth and expansion with this step into coeducation.
The Modern University Takes Shape
A governing board of lay trustees was organized in the late 1960s according to the requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Until 1969, the office of President of the University was held by the Provincial of the Marianites. In that year, the two positions were separated, and for the first time the Board of Regents elected the President. In the spring of 1971, the first status report was submitted and approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Between 1971 and 1980, the University grew in student numbers and added many new academic and professional programs to the initial Teacher Education curriculum. During this time, the University received accreditation for a ten-year period from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1975, University of Holy Cross awarded its first honorary degree, and, in 1991, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary. To synthesize the best use of faculties on the West Bank, University of Holy Cross and Delgado Community College formed the West Bank Higher Education Union. This partnership pledged cooperation, the exchange of faculty, mutual support of programs, and included detailed agreements for joint degree programs and joint use of libraries. The affiliation ended in 1993.
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