Brief History

For over a century and a half, Villanova University has been sponsored by the Order of St. Augustine, known as the Augustinians, one of the oldest religious teaching orders of the Catholic Church. The first American foundation of the order within the present limits of the United States was established in 1796 at old St. Augustine's Church in Philadelphia. Villanova University traces its lineage from this foundation and from St. Augustine's Academy, which was opened in Philadelphia in 1811.

In January 1842, the Philadelphia Augustinians took possession of "Belle Air," the country estate of the Revolutionary officer and merchant John Rudolph. In accordance with the old Catholic custom, the new foundation was placed under the patronage of a saintly hero of the past. As patron of the new Institution, the Augustinians chose St. Thomas of Villanova, a 16th century Spanish Bishop who was a distinguished Augustinian writer and educator. The school soon became known as Villanova and gave its name to the surrounding countryside.

Classes were opened in the old mansion house at Belle Air during the fall of 1843. On March 10, 1848, the Governor of Pennsylvania, Francis R. Shunk, signed the Act of the Legislature incorporating The Augustinian College of Villanova in the State of Pennsylvania and conferring on Villanova College the right to grant degrees in the Arts and Sciences.

The Liberal Arts College took its first step toward university status in 1905 with the establishment of what is now called the College of Engineering. The Science unit, inaugurated in 1915, is now an integral part of the present College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 1918, what is presently known as Part-Time Studies came into being. The School of Business was founded in 1922, the College of Nursing in 1953, and the School of Law in 1953.

Villanova's development over the years into a complex institution of higher education received official sanction when, on November 10, 1953, pursuant to an act of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, its charter was amended to permit it to be designated Villanova University.

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-- Main.nova - 14 Nov 2007