Our History

Past Presidents

Graduates of 1911 on steps of Derham Hall

Students in the 1940's

Minneapolis Campus

Students Outside Coeur de Catherine 2004

The College of St. Catherine was founded in St. Paul in 1905 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, with the leadership of Mother Seraphine Ireland. The college is named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, the fourth-century Egyptian lay philosopher who suffered martyrdom for her faith.

A site for the college was chosen at the top of the city's second-highest hill, in the area now known as Highland Village. The first benefactor was Hugh Derham of Rosemount, who contributed $20,000 for the first building. The building, named Derham Hall, opened in January 1905, offering classes to high school boarding students and lower-division college students. Upper-division college courses were first offered in the academic year of 1911-1912. In spring 1913, Bachelor of Arts degrees were conferred on the first two students to complete four years at the new institution.

In 1917, St. Catherine's earned full accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In fall 1937, the Phi Beta Kappa Council voted to grant a charter to the College of St. Catherine, making St. Catherine's the third college in Minnesota and the first Catholic institution in the United States to be recognized Phi Beta Kappa.

The Minneapolis campus of the College of St. Catherine was founded in 1887 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as St. Mary's School of Nursing, later named St. Mary's Junior College. In 1986, St. Mary's Junior College merged with the College of St. Catherine. The college's connection to St. Mary's School of Nursing makes St. Catherine's the oldest health-care educator in Minnesota. Today, the College of St. Catherine is the nation's largest Catholic women's college.

A multifaceted institution, St. Catherine's serves more than 4,470 students on campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis. St. Catherine's offers bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts and professional fields for women in a full-time day format and Weekend College. The college also offers professional certificates; degrees at the associate's, bachelor's and master's levels; and continuing education opportunities.

In all its programs, St. Catherine's offers students from diverse backgrounds a spiritual and ethical grounding that prepares them for lives and leadership roles that make a positive impact on the communities they serve. In September 1998 the college's Board of Trustees adopted a new vision for the college: to be the world's pre-eminent Catholic college educating women to lead and influence.

Past Presidents of the College...