National Louis University history

1894 – Harrison and her colleagues and their freshly renamed Chicago Kindergarten College launch the first in a series of convocations to connect mothers with their children’s teachers in the public schools.

Those meetings lead to the 1897 founding of the National College of Mothers, later renamed the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

1906 – The Chicago Kindergarten College incorporates as a non-profit entity and moves to a new location on Michigan Ave.

The School of Education debuts as a stand-alone unit, returning to the name it started with in 1925.

1930 – The college changes its name for a final time, becoming the National College of Education, and introduces the first four-year teacher-training program in Illinois.

Marguerite Hall opens as Saint Louis University's first residence hall for women. It becomes the University's first co-ed residence hall in 1971.

1986 – Michael W. Louis makes a historic, $30 million donation to the NCE, among the largest gifts to any college or university in Illinois.

FLORIDA (TAMPA) Established in 1988 and located in one of Tampa's major business districts, NLU's Florida Regional Center serves students in 13 counties in central Florida.

1989 – The university rises to the request of area businesses seeking better-prepared employees by forming the College of Management and Business (CMB) to deliver undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a much-in-demand MBA program.

The Louis gift, a major financial gift that spearheaded the transition in 1990 from college to university, is among the largest to private education in Illinois.

The hospital, home to accomplishments such as the state's first heart transplant, was sold by the University in 1998.

‌1999 – NLU moves to its flagship downtown Chicago location in the historic Peoples Gas Building, while reaching other students nationwide with campuses throughout Illinois and in Wisconsin and Florida.

Opened in the summer of 2006, NLU North Shore at Skokie is a state-of-the-art modern campus located just off the Edens Expressway near the Old Orchard Shopping Center.

2011 – National Louis University celebrates its 125th year and is respected as one of Chicago’s oldest, most innovative private universities, providing a quality education for a new type of learner: one who is pursuing an education while managing other personal and professional goals.

In 2015, NLU founded its Harrison Professional Pathways Program, an entirely new undergraduate degree program aimed at serving under-resourced but college-qualified youth in the Chicago area, specifically students graduating high school with a GPA between 2.0 and 3.0.

2016 – National Louis University announces that it will close the Wisconsin location due to changes in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) accreditation requirements and NLU’s desire to maintain our focus as a unified institution.

2018 – National Louis University acquires Kendall College.