Duquesne University - History

History

The Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost was founded on October 1, 1878 by Fr. Joseph Strub and the Holy Ghost Fathers, who had been expelled from Germany during Otto von Bismarck's Kulturkampf six years earlier. When the college was founded, it had six faculty members and 40 students. The college obtained its state charter in 1882. Students attended classes in a rented space above a bakery on Wylie Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Duquesne established itself at its current location on the Bluff and built the original five-story red brick "Old Main" in 1885. At the time, it was the highest point on the Pittsburgh skyline.

On May 27, 1911, under the leadership of Fr. Martin Hehir, the College became the first Catholic institution of higher learning in Pennsylvania to become a university. It was subsequently renamed "Duquesne University of the Holy Ghost", after Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquis du Quesne, the French governor of New France who first brought Catholic observances to the Pittsburgh area. The year 1913 saw the university record its first woman graduate, Sister M. Fides of the Sisters of Mercy. In 1914, the graduate school was established.

The 1920s were a time of expansion for the developing university. The campus grew to include its first single-purpose academic building, Canevin Hall, as well as a gymnasium and a central heating plant. Institutionally, the school grew to include the School of Pharmacy in 1925, a School of Music in 1926, and a School of Education in 1929. In 1928 the university celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and was able to rejoice in the fact that it was now both financially solvent and enrollment had reached an all-time high. Hard times, however, came with the Wall Street Crash of 1929; plans for expansion had to be shelved.

The beloved Fr. Hehir was succeeded in 1931 by Fr. J. J. Callahan. Through Fr. Callahan was not as able an administration as Fr. Hehir, his tenure did see the university add numerous new programs, a short-lived School for the Unemployed, and, in 1937, the Nursing School. The university's sports programs also thrived during the Depression era, with some of the greatest triumphs of the basketball and football teams occurring in that time period—a 6–0 defeat of Pitt in 1936 was a high point of student exuberance. A university library was completed in 1940.

Some of the darkest years of the university's history passed during World War II, when the university was led by the young Fr. Raymond Kirk. The school's enrollment, which had been 3,100 in 1940, dropped to an all-time low in the summer of 1944, with a mere one thousand students enrolled. Fr. Kirk's health broke under the strain of leading the school through such struggles, and he was relieved of his duties by Fr. Francis P. Smith in 1946. After the war, the school faced a wave of veterans seeking higher education. In contrast to the lean war-time years, the 1949 enrollment peaked at 5,500, and space became an issue. Fr. Smith took advantage of the Lanham Act, which allowed him to acquire three barracks-type buildings from Army surplus. The science curriculum was expanded, and the School of Business Administration saw its enrollment rise to over two thousand. Also during this time, a campus beautification project was implemented and WDUQ, Pittsburgh's first college radio station, was founded.

An ambitious campus expansion plan was proposed by Fr. Vernon F. Gallagher in 1952. Assumption Hall, the first student dormitory, was opened in 1954, and Rockwell Hall was dedicated in November 1958, housing the schools of business and law. It was during the tenure of Fr. Henry J. McAnulty that Fr. Gallagher's ambitious plans were put to action. Between 1959 and 1980, the university renovated or constructed various buildings to form the academic infrastructure of the campus. Among these are College Hall, the music school and the library, as well as a new Student Union and Mellon Hall, along with four more dormitories. Although Fr. McAnulty's years as president saw tremendous expansion, a financial crisis in 1970 nearly forced the closure of the university. Students rallied to the cause, however, and set a goal of raising one million dollars to "Save Duquesne University". Students engaged in door-to-door fundraising and gathered nearly $600,000, enough to keep Duquesne afloat until the end of the crisis in 1973. It was also during Fr. McAnulty's time as president that Duquesne University played an important role in the shaping of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which has its roots in a retreat of several faculty members and students held in February 1967.

McAnulty was succeeded by Fr. Donald S. Nesti. Fr. Nesti's tenure in the 1980s saw construction begin on the A. J. Palumbo Center, which was dedicated in 1988, as well as an expansion of the law school. It was under the presidency of Dr. John E. Murray, Jr., the university's first lay president, that the university developed into its modern institutional and physical form. Between 1988 and 2001, the University opened its first new schools in 50 years, including the Rangos School of Health Sciences, the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, and the School of Leadership and Professional Advancement. Duquesne University continues to expand with its completion of the Power Center, a mixed-use development project on Forbes Avenue, and a new residence hall, to be completed in 2012.