Xavier’s Heritage
Xavier University was founded by the Bishop Edward Dominic Fenwick in 1831 as the first
Catholic college in the northwest Territory. Called the Athenaeum, the college was dedicated
to St. Francis Xavier. The Athenaeum was built next to Cincinnati’s first cathedral on Sycamore
Street between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. At the time, Cincinnati was the sixth-largest
city in the nation with 25,000 residents. The Athenaeum was renamed St. Xavier College in
1840 when the bishop asked the Society of Jesus to come to Cincinnati and operate the school.
The campus moved to Avondale Athletic Club in 1919, and was renamed Xavier University in
1930.
In 1831, Xavier served 60 high school and
college students of all religions. Most early
students came from the South, jeopardizing
enrollment during the Civil War. Tuition in
1840—when the Jesuits arrived—was $40
per year. Board was $130, which included
washing and mending of clothes.
Night classes were first offered in 1841.
Popular subjects included German and
bookkeeping, which raised revenue for the
college while the Jesuits recruited full-time
students. St. Xavier College built a reputation for scholarship. It also was known for discipline
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by “rod and ferrule” compared to the “lawlessness” of most schools of the day.
The first student organization was the Philopedian Society for debaters in 1841. The Xaverian
newspaper was founded in 1917, the student council in 1923, band in 1926 and the reserve
officer’s training corp in 1936.
Summer cl
asses were introduced in 1914, primarily for the convenience of religious sisters
who taught the rest of the year. Women were admitted to the evening division in 1918, to the
graduate school in 1948 and to all undergraduate colleges in 1969. With the acquisition of
nearby Edgecliff College in 1980, women undergraduates slightly outnumbered men.
Enrollment grew dramatically during World War II. The U.S. Army Corp trained 1,808 pilots in
Xavier classrooms in 1943 and 1944. Enrollment for academic classes was less than 100 in
1944, but after the war it jumped to 1,780—of whom 60 percent were veterans.
Currently, Xavier University has over 6,500 students, and offers 90+ majors at the
undergraduate level and 40+ graduate programs including 3 doctoral program. The
University also makes attending school easy for those over age 22. The Center for Adult and
Part-time Students offers undergraduate programs specifically designed for full-time or part-
time students. Classes can be taken during the day, in the evening, on the weekend or in
accelerated sequences.
The first major athletic victory was an interscholastic football championship in 1902. The
football team later won the 1950 Salad Bowl, while the basketball team took the national
Invitational Tournament in 1958. Today, Xavier consistently graduates more than 80
percent of its student-athletes.