Johnson & Wales University history

Forts were built in the town, and American and French troops were quartered in what is now University Hall (built 1770; restored 1940) at Brown University.

In June 1947, founders Johnson and Wales, facing old age and illness, sold Johnson & Wales Business School to partners (and Navy buddies) Edward Triangelo and Morris Gaebe.

JWU was accredited in 1954 by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).

Early on, Misses Johnson and Wales moved their classrooms multiple times in the city of Providence before the school purchased its first building at Abbott Park Place in 1962.

The school became a registered nonprofit organization in 1963.

In 1970 the State of Rhode Island approved a revision in the university’s charter allowing it to award baccalaureate degrees as well as associate degrees.

Gaebe introduced the hospitality program in 1972, despite skepticism from the college's board.

Emeril Lagasse (1979) - celebrity chef and television personality

In 1984, a JWU campus was established in Charleston, South Carolina, which offered a variety of 2- and 4-year programs in food service, hospitality and travel-tourism.

A JWU campus opened in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1986, offering 1- and 2-year food service programs.

The college officially became Johnson & Wales University in 1988, known informally as JWU.

Tyler Florence (1991) - celebrity chef and television personality

In 1992 JWU opened a campus in North Miami, Florida.

JWU received regional accreditation from the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) in 1993.

Julia Child (1995) - celebrity chef and television personality

September 2000 marked the opening of the Denver, Colorado, campus.

Denver was the only campus to have that name official, until last year when the Providence campus renamed it's gym as well (formerly the Harborside Recreation Center). It is home to the athletic program of this branch of the university, and was home to the ABA's Colorado Storm in 2004.

The Wildcat Centers, now fully renovated as of the summer of 2009, are NAIA and NCAA regulation size and seats over 600.

JWU is one of the top three Hospitality Colleges, according to the 2010 rankings released by the American Universities Admissions Program, which ranks of American universities according to their international reputation.

Keegan Gerhard (2011) - celebrity chef and judge on the Food Network Challenge

In fall 2012 the university began offering a degree in counseling psychology, the first bachelor’s degree program offered through the John Hazen White School of Arts & Sciences.

Providence also now features a Scotts soccer and baseball field complex as of 2013, again located on the Harborside campus.

The new design came from Devon Tsinzo (Providence Class Of 2015) when she won the redesign contest.

Johnson and Wales is planning future expansions to be complete in 2017.

On June 25, 2020, the school announced it would shut down its Denver and North Miami campuses at the end of the 2020–21 school year.