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Benedictine University history
Benedictine University company history timeline
The educational work began March 2, 1887 when Rev.
Benedictine University, also called BenU, was founded in 1887 as St Procopius College by the Benedictine monks of St Procopius Abbey, who lived in the Pilsen community of Chicago's West Side.
1890 - The college is incorporated and chartered by the state of Illinois.
1896 - The Abbey purchases the 104 acre Morris Neff farm near Lisle, Illinois.
1900 - Groundbreaking for Benedictine Hall is undertaken in Lisle.
1901 - Benedictine Hall is dedicated on July 1.
While the school was called a college from its founding, it did not begin offering post-secondary courses until after it moved from Chicago to rural Lisle in 1901.
1904 - The first four year high school program is offered at St Procopius College.
1905 - First Field Day activities held in connection with May Day.
1908 - The first student publication, Studenske Listy (Student Life), is published.
1909 - The first upper level college courses are taught.
1914 - The Abbey receives permission from Rome to relocate to Lisle.
1916 - For the first time, the college's catalog is published in English rather than Czech.
1921 - The first varsity football team is formed.
There, the sisters continued their academy, and in 1924 Mount St Scholastica’s Junior College was opened.
1925 - Construction begins on the gymnasium, the school's second building.
The junior college soon became a senior college and in 1932 it conferred its first bachelor’s degrees.
1934 - St Procopius College is recognized by the state of Illinois for teacher certification.
In 1934 Mount St Scholastica College was fully accredited by the North Central Association.
1951 - Students move into Jaeger Hall, the first dormitory building.
1954 - The Physical Sciences Laboratory is organized under the direction of Doctor Francis Shonka, former faculty member and senior physicist at Argonne National Laboratory.
1956 - A Lay Advisory Board of 13 members is established.
1957 - St Procopius Academy begins operations on its new campus on the site of the former St Joseph's Orphanage.
Also in 1957, the institution's high school component began operating independently of the college and is now called Benet Academy.
The college became fully coeducational in 1968. It became fully accredited in 1957 and, as the area around it transitioned from rural to suburban, it grew substantially.
1958 - St Procopius College receives accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools on March 28.
1959 - The first adult education and evening courses are conducted.
1960 - Construction of Kohlbeck Hall, the campus' second residence hall, begins.
1962 - Construction of Lownik Library begins.
1963 - The first Trustee's Dinner is held at the Drake-Oakbrook Hotel.
1966 - The first Educare Ball is held at the Cress Creek Country Club.
1968 - Construction of Neuzil residence Hall begins.
1969 - Construction of a women's residence hall, Ondrak Hall, begins.
1970 - Construction of St Procopius Abbey and Ondrak Hall is completed.
Over the years, the monks and sisters cooperated in their educational ventures, ultimately merging the two colleges on July 1, 1971, to form Benedictine College.
1971 - College enrollment hits 1,000 students for the first time.
The narrative history linked below was compiled and edited by the Communications Office and published by the Development Office in June 1975.
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.
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.
The Goodwin Hall of Business opened in 2015.
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.
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Benedictine University competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Xavier University | 1846 | $70.0M | 975 | 37 |
| Loyola University Chicago | 1870 | $594.8M | 20 | 97 |
| Carroll University | 1846 | - | 1,192 | 29 |
| Fontbonne University | 1923 | $50.0M | 274 | - |
| Millikin University | 1901 | $43.4M | 600 | 8 |
| Maryville University | 1872 | $91.0M | 1,602 | - |
| Edgewood College | 1927 | $66.8M | 858 | 48 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | 1907 | $130.1M | 1,467 | 23 |
| Knox College | 1837 | $38.0M | 715 | 9 |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 1850 | $74.9M | 1,000 | - |
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