History of USD
In 1945, two religious leaders stood on a hilltop in San Diego and envisioned building two institutions that would provide the best in sacred and secular learning. The Most Reverend Charles F. Buddy, first bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, and Mother Rosalie Hill, superior vicar of the Society of the Sacred Heart, founded those colleges just a few years later.
The San Diego College for Women opened its doors in February 1952 with 50 students, a handful of professors and a campus still under construction. In the spring of 1954, the men's institution, known then as San Diego University, had temporary quarters as professors welcomed 39 students in the College for Men and 60 students in the School of Law.
Mother Hill and Bishop Buddy brought Alcalá Park to life with seven buildings, still the heart of campus today: Camino, Founders, Sacred Heart, Maher and Serra halls, and for the law school, Warren Hall and the Pardee Legal Research Center, as they are currently known. A sports center and stadium were built for the fledgling athletics programs. The Diocese of San Diego built the Immaculata Church, which still serves USD and the surrounding neighbors, and an office building, which the university later purchased and renovated into USD's main administration building.
The beauty of USD's campus – widely admired for its stunning Spanish Renaissance architecture – hints at its heritage. The University of San Diego is named after San Diego de Alcalá, a Franciscan lay brother from the Spanish town of Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid. The University of Alcalá de Henares served as a model for USD's founders, both physically, through its architectural style, and philosophically, through its determination to prevail as an educational institution that serves society and the human condition.
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council encouraged Catholic colleges and universities to “unite in a mutual sharing of effort.” With this directive from the Church the two institutions began the process of combining academic, fiscal and physical resources.
By the time the institutions merged in 1972 to form the University of San Diego, the campus had grown to accommodate 2,516 students.
Today, the University of San Diego is a nationally ranked Roman Catholic institution with 766 faculty members and more than 7,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students.
Governed by an independent board of trustees, the university has six academic divisions: the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Law, School of Business Administration, School of Leadership and Education Sciences, Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science and the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. USD's values-based education offers students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs.
The 180-acre campus now houses buildings that encompass more than 2 million square feet and provide educational, administrative, residential, athletic, dining and support services.
Getting across campus now requires a hike. But thanks to steadfast planning by USD's leaders over the last half century, the destination remains the same: a consummate liberal arts education.
