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University History

Loyola University Chicago was founded by four Jesuit priests, one of whom was Reverend Arnold Damen, S.J., who also served as its first president. Chartered by the State of Illinois on June 30, 1870 as St. Ignatius College, in 1909 the University officially changed its name to Loyola University under new articles of incorporation that authorized the granting of professional and graduate degrees.

From its beginning, Loyola University was an urban university in character, with most of its student body coming from the Chicago metropolitan area. Originally located on the west side of Chicago, its physical plant was among the few large buildings in that area that escaped the historic 1871 Chicago fire. Because of the shift of Chicago's population in the early 1900's, steps were taken to relocate the college to the north side of the city.

During the presidency of the Reverend Henry Dumbach, S.J., the tract of land that is now the site of Loyola's Lake Shore Campus was purchased. The development of the Lake Shore Campus began with the construction of Dumbach Hall, which housed a college-preparatory school, Loyola Academy, until the expansion of the university made it necessary to relocate this institution to Wilmette, Illinois, in 1957.

Further development of the Lake Shore Campus saw the construction of Cudahy Science Building in 1912, the Jesuit Faculty Residence in 1922, the Alumni Gymnasium in 1923, the Elizabeth Cudahy Memorial Library in 1930, and the Madonna della Strada Chapel in 1938. Other additions to the campus include Damen Hall, an addition to the library, Campion and Mertz Halls, the Centennial Forum student center, the Kathleen Mullady Memorial Theater, Flanner Hall, the George Halas, Jr. Sports Center and the Edward Crown Center for the Humanities. In 1990, the Simpson Living Learning Center, a state of the art residence hall opened.

Much of the post-World War II expansion of the University was made possible by a generous donation of Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Lewis. This enabled Loyola to open a second campus, the Water Tower Campus on Chicago's near north side in 1946. The Water Tower campus' newest addition is the 25 East Pearson Building, which opened in 1994. This building is occupied by the School of Business Administration, the School of Law Library, and the University Library for the Water Tower Campus. Information Technologies, Academic Technological Client Services, The Institute of Human Resources and Industrial Relations, and the Center for Organizational Development, are located in this facility.

STRITCH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

In order to draw more "collegiate" type students, administrators of the University decided in 1909 to form a department, rather than a school, of medicine. Rev. H. Spalding, S.J., the first regent of the school, faced great obstacles in this attempt to upgrade this program.

Medical education during this time was in a state of flux attempting to correct deficiencies of the late 1800's. Medical training in 1870 consisted of two school years each lasting 20 weeks. The second year was largely a repeat of the first. The majority of schools had no clinical curriculum, and requirements for entrance varied greatly. Most did not even require four years of high school. Some schools operated strictly for profit. These were known as "commercial" schools which were staffed by physicians who wanted additional prestige and the increased patient population that came to teaching physicians. Virtually any group of physicians could band together and form their own medical school with minimal investment of time or money. By 1904 there were 15 day medical schools in Chicago, a number of evening and correspondence schools in addition to the "irregular" schools which included homeopathic, osteopathic, chiropractic and eclectic schools of medicine. All could legally send graduates out to practice medicine without any standard minimum qualifications.

There did exist a minority of medical schools which were genuinely dedicated to improving the quality of medical education in Chicago. Dr. Nathan Davis, the founder of Chicago Medical College (later to become Northwestern University Medical School), was a leader in this movement. He fought for minimum entrance requirements: a high school diploma and at least one year of college. He felt that the school year should be extended from 20 weeks to six months, and that the length of studies be increased from two to three years. He also recommended that tuition be eliminated because most of the students were from poor Midwestern farm families. His recommendations were not well received by the schools themselves.

In 1904 the American Medical Association threw their support to Dr. Davis, not surprising since he was the founder, and created the Council on Medical Education. The Council wanted medical schools to be graded A, B, and C, with C being unsatisfactory. In order to have their evaluations considered objective, they requested the Carnegie Foundation to perform these evaluations in 1910. The report written by A. Flexner was devastating to the Chicago area medical schools, describing the city as "the plague spot of the country." The report stated there were only three grade "A" schools in Illinois which should remain open: Rush Medical College, Northwestern, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons (later known as University of Illinois Medical School).

Ironically, at the very time when the Flexner report was attempting to close medical schools, Loyola and Fr. Spalding were attempting to open their medical department. Even though Loyola was one of the first schools to follow the recommendations of the Flexner report, it faced hostility by the American Medical Association.

In 1909 Loyola decided to affiliate with the Illinois Medical College (IMC), establishing a medical department. IMC was housed in a three story building originally built as a hotel. Associated with IMC was Reliance Medical College, an evening medical school. Reliance was also incorporated with Loyola. In 1910 Fr. Spalding was approached by the Bennett Medical School (BMS) who was seeking a Loyola affiliation in an attempt to raise the grade they had received from the AMA.

It was soon after Loyola's affiliation with Bennett that the American Medical Association began its attempts to close Loyola's medical department. The first reason was that the American Medical Association felt BMS was trying to beat the grade system by affiliating with a university. Secondly, the AMA felt Loyola had become a "commercial school" as evidenced by their having the largest graduating class in the nation. Add to that, Loyola gave their own entrance exam and the AMA viewed this as a method of accepting unqualified students. Lastly, Bennett had been founded as an eclectic school which was considered one of the "irregular" sects in medicine. The eclectic dogma denied therapy of bleeding, purging and emetics (vomiting), which had been the main tool of "regular" medicine for quite some time.

The AMA brought medical officials from Columbus to the Bennett Medical School. Fr. Spalding felt these officials completely misrepresented Loyola to the AMA, so he went to Ohio to defend the department. While in Columbus, he investigated the examiner's medical school and was able to force the Columbus officials to defend their school to the AMA rather than have Loyola defend Bennett. The AMA also attempted to enroll an undercover operative at Bennett Medical School. Though never enrolled, the AMA printed a story in the Chicago Tribune that he was. Legal action finally ended that foray.

In 1917 the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery (CCMS) became interested in uniting with Loyola. Though weakly affiliated with Valparaiso University, CCMS was being hounded by the AMA to close because it was considered a commercial school. Fr. Spalding did not agree, thus, Loyola purchased CCMS for $85,000 and began classes there in 1918. The school was located across from Cook County Hospital.

Since Loyola had no university hospital, the clinical students had to do rotations at various area hospitals. Some of the hospitals used from 1917 - 1936 included Columbus, Alexian, Oak Park, Misericordia and almost every hospital that had "Saint" as its first name. Cook County and Mercy, however, were the two mainstays. In 1937 Mercy became the University Hospital of Loyola.

From the late 1920's to the late 1940's, funding was the biggest obstacle Loyola faced. By the end of the 1940's the financial situation had gotten so bad that the suggestion was made for the school of medicine to be closed.

Cardinal Stritch was approached for help during this period because he was committed to the idea of a Catholic medical center, and was adept at raising funds. He offered monetary support, lent his name to an annual fund raising event and acted as mediator between Mercy Hospital and Loyola. In 1948 the name of the medical school was changed to the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine.

In the 1950's Mercy Hospital announced their intention to build a new hospital along South Lake Shore Drive. It was thought that the new hospital could be built in conjunction with Loyola Stritch and form a new teaching hospital. After years of discussion, negotiations ceased with the major area of difference being control of the clinical departments within the hospital. In May of 1959, Mercy and Loyola announced that the two institutions would expand separately. Mercy would build on their present site and Loyola would look elsewhere.

Loyola purchased nine acres of property in Skokie in 1958 with the intent of building a 350-bed hospital and medical school. City services, community resistance and school of dentistry objections, along with a Village of Skokie lawsuit, caused Loyola to sell its property - at a 1.7 million dollar profit. In 1961 Loyola received 62 acres of land from the Hines Veterans Administration. The acquisition was challenged by a Protestant organization that objected to the sale of government land to a Catholic institution but Loyola continued the project.

Plans for the Hines site included a motel for families of patients, dorms and apartments for students, a nurses' home, intern quarters and various institutes (on Medical Ethics, Medical Missions). Due to financial and construction problems, these buildings were never built. Construction delays forced the cost of the project to rise from $21 to $35 million before any ground was even broken. Hines was slow in vacating, and to avoid further construction costs caused by the delay, construction was begun on the north end of the campus where the first buildings were released by Hines in 1965. The Maguire Center (the former school of dentistry) is located where the hospital was going to be built. The medical school opened in building 116 in 1967. The hospital opened its doors in May 1969, one year late. On its first day, Loyola had two patients and eight full time medicine faculty. In 1972, prompted by the federal government, a three year curriculum was instituted since there appeared to be a doctor shortage. Cutting federal capitation grant money helped to prod the institution's compliance. By 1980 Loyola returned to the four year program.

Other construction and programs have included the construction of the Mulcahy Outpatient Center in 1980 and the Russo Surgical Pavilion in 1983. In 1988 Loyola began the emergency transport helicopter service called LIFESTAR. Completion of the Emergency Department, Administrative Building and south Parking Deck occurred in 1991.

Ongoing expansion of services and programs led to further construction in 1993 of an aeromedical hanger for the LIFESTAR helicopter, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, and an energy building. Construction was completed on, and students, faculty and staff moved into, the new Stritch School of Medicine in July of 1997.

Construction began in December of 1996 on the 62,000 square foot Loyola University Chicago Center for Health & Fitness. Completed and opened in late November of 1997, this facility provides physical and recreational programs and equipment to thousands of members. In the Spring of 1999, the Center won the Chicago Tribune readers poll for the "Best Health Club" in the Chicago area.

In the winter of 1998 construction began on a second parking deck located immediately north of the Stritch School of Medicine. This deck now supplies parking to employees and visitors, and provides access to the main pedestrian corridor on campus, allowing easy access to the Russo Surgical Pavilion. The deck was completed and opened in December, 1999.

GRADUATE SCHOOL

Loyola's Graduate School is the largest of Loyola's seven graduate and professional colleges offering 55 Master's and 35 Doctoral degrees. Post baccalaureate students are also enrolled in the Graduate School of Business, the School of Education, the Niehoff School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work. The Graduate School accepts applications for all Loyola programs granting the M.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees, as well as selected professional programs. Graduate programs in the humanities, the social sciences, chemistry, nursing, and education are offered at the Lakeside campuses.

Graduate programs in the biomedical sciences are offered at the Medical Center Campus. The biomedical sciences share in the standard goals and objectives of the Graduate School and also specify their own emphasis and curricula of research and training. The core of the biomedical sciences are the graduate disciplines of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and interdisciplinary programs in Molecular Biology and the Neurosciences. There are approximately 110 full-time teaching faculty in these disciplines to act as mentors and advisors resulting in a very favorable faculty to student ratio of 1:1.3. Faculty and students collaborate with their counterparts at other medical centers and universities, as well as government and industry laboratories in the greater metropolitan area, thus extending the graduate education in the biomedical sciences beyond the Medical Center Campus. The web site of the Graduate School is located at: http://luc.edu/schools/grad/

MARCELLA NIEHOFF SCHOOL OF NURSING

The Loyola University Chicago School of Nursing was established as a baccalaureate granting program in 1935 making it the first and oldest BSN program in the State of Illinois. In 1980, the nursing school was named the "Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing" thanks to the generous endowment by the Niehoff family. This endowment has served to establish and sustain a nursing research chair, currently held by Dr. Rosemarie Parse, an internationally known nurse theorist. The School has full accreditation by the National League for Nursing.

The School of Nursing is based on both the Lake Shore campus and the Medical Center Campus. The entire Master of Science in Nursing didactic courses are taken at the Medical Center campus. Some undergraduate courses and clinicals as well as some Doctoral courses are also taught at the Medical Center Campus. At the undergraduate level, individuals may choose a number of options to obtain the baccalaureate degree in nursing. If the individual has no degree, then s/he is programmed into the basic baccalaureate program leading to the baccalaureate of science degree in Nursing (BSN); the individual with a college degree in a discipline other than nursing and seeking a career in nursing is programmed into the accelerated BSN option. The nursing portion of the accelerated BSN degree can be completed in 13 months. Registered nurses with a diploma or associate of arts degree in nursing can obtain the BSN through the RN to BSN option. Information on these programs can be obtained by contacting the Assistant Dean for the Undergraduate Nursing program at (773) 508-3262.

The School of Nursing started offering the Master of Science degree in 1964. Today it boasts national ranking in US News and World Reports - Best Graduate Schools, and offers 5 nurse practitioner majors: Acute Care NP, Emergency Room NP, Women’s Health NP, Pediatric NP and Adult Health NP. In addition there are opportunities for clinical nurse specialty preparation in cardiovascular health, oncology, and acute care nursing. Two dual degrees are offered, the MSN/MBA and the MSN/MDiv. Finally, certificate programs in managed care and informatics are also available.

In 1989 the School of Nursing and the Graduate School of the University admitted the first class of nurses enrolled in the Ph.D. in Nursing program. This program completed its 10 year evaluation by the Graduate School in 1999 and was recommended for continuation without any encumbrances. Graduates have gone on to prominence in education and research. Enrollment is maintained at 50 students maximum with one-third taking classes, one-third writing prelim exams, and one-third working on the dissertation. This enrollment pattern insures maximum assistance by the faculty for the student. A minimum of 2 students and a maximum of 5 students graduate per year. This is considered by the University to be an excellent graduation rate for a doctoral program. A summer Ph.D. option is available as well. Information about any of the graduate degree or certificate offerings can be obtained by contacting the Associate Dean/Director for Graduate Nursing programs at (773) 508-3261 or 63.

Web site link to send a message is at: www.schools.nursing@luc.edu or to learn more about the school, go to www.luc.edu/schools/nursing.

MUNDELEIN COLLEGE

Mundelein College is Loyola's division of adult learning, offering degree-completion, certificate programs, post-baccalaureate programs, and non-credit programs to a wide variety of students. What began in 1914 as Loyola's downtown college, is now a college offering evening and weekend courses at each of Loyola's four campuses. Each year, more than 2,000 students enroll in classes and other programs to further their personal and professional interests.

Mundelein College, which has an office in room 180 of the Stritch School of Medicine, offers evening undergraduate courses at the Medical Center Campus. More than 200 students each semester enroll in a variety of courses in humanities, mathematics, social science, and computer science. While a degree cannot be completed at the Medical Center Campus, all courses offered carry full academic credit and can be applied toward a Loyola undergraduate degree or certificate program.

Beginning in the Fall 1999 semester, Mundelein College began offering the University's first on-line computer science certificate program. The new on-line courses include training in Java & Web Development, plus Networking & Telecommunications. The on-line courses, made available through an agreement with eCollege.com of Denver, Colo., currently offer audio files and course transcripts, but will eventually feature video streaming technology, which will allow students to more fully interact with faculty and their on-line classmates. These virtual classrooms will be accessible to any registered student with a 486 computer and Internet access.

Academic advising is available at Mundelein's Medical Center Campus office every other Friday. For an appointment or for more information, call 312-915-6501 or e-mail to mundelein@luc.edu. We also would like to invite you to view the Mundelein College home page, located at www.luc.edu/schools/mundelein.

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