Benedictine College history

Benedictine College was officially opened in 1859, just two years after the foundation of St Benedict's Abbey.

In 1863 the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St Scholastica, whose namesake is Benedict of Nursia's twin sister Scholastica, arrived in Atchison and founded St Scholastica's Academy (now Maur Hill – Mount Academy) for local young women.

The college was incorporated under the laws of Kansas and empowered to confer degrees and academic honors in the year 1868.

Benedictine University was founded by the Benedictine monks of St Procopius Abbey in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago in 1887.

The first building on the Lisle campus was dedicated in September 1901.

In 1924 Mount St Scholastica's Junior College was opened so these young women could continue their tertiary education.

Over the years the college continued to expand and by 1927 it was an accredited four-year liberal arts college.

The present-day college was formed in 1971 by the merger of St Benedict's College, a men's college, and Mount St Scholastica College, a women's college.

Benedictine College terminated the lease of the facilities from Mount St Scholastica College on October 1, 1989, amidst financial hardship.

In 2003, Benedictine University and Springfield College in Illinois partnered to bring Benedictine programs and services to the state capital.

Also in 2004, the University partnered with the Village of Lisle to construct the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex, a multi-purpose facility featuring lighted athletic fields with a nine-lane track.

Benedictine’s Margaret and Harold Moser Center opened in Naperville in 2006 to serve adult and graduate students, and later became the National Moser Center for Adult Learning.

Benedictine College celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.

Meanwhile, Benedictine became the first Catholic University in Arizona when it established a branch campus in Mesa and opened its doors to students in the fall of 2013.

In 2016, Benedictine rebranded the Moser Center into the School of Graduate, Adult and Professional Education with degree programs offered in business, education and health care.