Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is California's oldest operating higher-education institution, and we cherish our rich history which begain with the Mission Santa Clara de Asís in 1777. Since 1851, the academic landscape has continued to change and flourish since the founding of Santa Clara College.

1777: Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded on the banks of the Guadalupe River, the eighth of the original 21 missions in California.

1779: After the Guadalupe River overflows and destroys the first mission, a temporary church is built.

1781: Father Junipero Serra lays the foundation for the new Mission Santa Clara de Asís far enough away from the river to avoid flooding but close enough to allow an irrigation canal to reach the fields.

1784: Construction of the mission is completed.

1825: Restoration is completed on the mission, which had been damaged by an earthquake in 1818.

1851: Society of Jesus founds “Santa Clara College” on the site of the fifth Mission Santa Clara de Asís, establishing what is today California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning.

1875: The “college” originally operates as a preparatory school and does not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. Following the Civil War, enrollment increases. By 1875, the size of the student body is 275. One-third of the students are enrolled in the collegiate division; the remainder attend the college’s preparatory and high school departments.

1881: The Alumni Association is founded.

1884: Construction of the third mission is completed.

1912: The schools of engineering and law are added and the school is renamed “The University of Santa Clara.”

1926: Faulty wiring causes a fire, burning Mission Santa Clara de Asís.

1926: The Leavey School of Business opens, and within a decade receives national accreditation, one of the first business schools in the country to do  so.

1928: The sixth Mission Santa Clara de Asís is built on the same location and in a style similar to the 1825 mission.

1951: The University celebrates its 100th anniversary.

1955: The de Saisset Museum opens its doors, offering free admission to SCU faculty and students and the general public. The art and history museum is one of only two museums in the South Bay accredited by the American Association of Museums, serving as an important teaching and learning resource.

1961: Women are accepted as undergraduates, making Santa Clara the first coeducational Catholic university in California.

1976: Santa Clara becomes the first Catholic university west of St. Louis to open a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

1985: The University adopts “Santa Clara University” as its official name.

2000: At the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education conference held at the University, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, delivers the keynote address.

2001: The University celebrates its 150th anniversary.

2006: The University welcomes the largest freshman class in school history.