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After three attempts to establish
a Catholic School in Pittsburgh had failed, Bishop Joseph
Domenec prevailed upon the Congregation of the Holy
Ghost, which opened Pittsburgh Catholic College in October
1878. The first 40 students began classes with seven
faculty members in rented rooms over a Wylie Avenue
bakery.
By 1882, the school was chartered
by the state legislature and authorized to confer degrees.
Three years later, the Spiritans opened Old Main, a
self-enclosed campus in a single building, several blocks
away atop our Bluff.
In 1911 the college became the first
Catholic institution in Pennsylvania to be granted university
status and was renamed Duquesne University, honoring
the French colonial governor who first brought Catholic
observances to the region.
With university status, Duquesne expanded
upon its liberal arts tradition to open professional
schools, beginning with a law school (1911). A school
of business was added in 1913, followed by schools of
pharmacy (1925), music (1926), education (1929), nursing
(1937), and health sciences (1994). Programs in the
natural and environmental sciences were spun off from
the College to form a separate school in 1994, and a
school of leadership and professional advancement serving
adult learners was formed in 2001.
Beginning in the 1920s, Duquesne gradually
expanded its physical campus to accommodate its growing
enrollment. Campus development accelerated from the
1950s through the 1970s, encompassing the entire Bluff
overlooking downtown Pittsburgh. With enrollment now
exceeding 10,000 students, the University now occupies
nearly 50 acres and is growing along the north side
of heavily traveled Forbes Avenue.
For a complete history of Duquesne
University from 1978-1996, read “The Spirit that
Gives Life” by Dr. Joseph Rishel, published by
Duquesne
University Press and available from the press or
from the Duquesne
University Bookstore.
Read more about Duquesne’s
history.
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