History and Heritage
The University traces its origins to fifteenth century Spain. Its namesake, San Diego de Alcala, born in the province of Seville circa 1400, became a Franciscan brother and served as a missionary in the Canary Islands. He later was a cook and infirmarian at the Franciscan convent at Alcala de Henares near Madrid, where he died in 1463. Because of Diego's exemplary life, he was canonized as St. Didacus of Alcala in 1588. The University of Alcala, founded by Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros in 1499, opened for classes in 1508. Its Spanish Renaissance architecture and general setting inspired the design of the University of San Diego.
The University of San Diego has a dual heritage. Bishop Buddy invited the Society of the Sacred Heart under the leadership of Mother Hill, RSCJ, to join him in establishing an institution of higher learning in San Diego. The Society of the Sacred Heart, founded in France in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and brought to America in 1818 by St. Philippine Duchesne, has schools and colleges throughout the world. Founded by Mother Hill, the San Diego College for Women began in February 1952.
Originally sponsored by the Diocese of San Diego, the College for Men and the School of Law, the first professional division of the University, both began classes in 1954. It became clear that distinct educational advantages would be gained if the curricula, libraries, and structures of these institutions were shared. In July 1972, the two colleges and the School of Law merged, forming a single, co-educational Catholic university. The governance of the University was transferred from the founding organizations to an independent Board of Trustees.
The 1972 merger of the University of San Diego and the San Diego College for Women brought major changes in the corporate relationships of the two governing bodies. The University remains Catholic by charter and is responsible to its own Board of Trustees, a group of forty men and women from various faith traditions. The founding entities, the Diocese of San Diego and the Society of the Sacred Heart, continue to participate at faculty, administration, and Board levels.
In 1994, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching reclassified USD as a "Doctoral University II." This reclassification recognized the strides the University had made in graduate studies and research. In 2000, USD was reclassified as a Doctoral/Research-Intensive University and earned a Phi Beta Kappa charter in 2003.
Today the University of San Diego includes the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business Administration, School of Education, School of Law, the Philip Y. Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, and the future Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies.
