Catholic University of America

Pope Leo XIII granted the charter to The Catholic University of America

U.S. President Grover Cleveland helped lay the cornerstone

At the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops first discussed the need for a national Catholic university. At the Third Plenary Council on January 26, 1885, bishops chose the name The Catholic University of America for the institution.[9]

In 1882, Bishop John Lancaster Spalding went to Rome to obtain Pope Leo XIII's support for the university, also persuading his family friend Mary Gwendoline Caldwell to pledge $300,000 to establish it. On April 10, 1887, Pope Leo XIII sent James Cardinal Gibbons a letter granting permission to establish the university.[9] On March 7, 1889, the Pope issued the encyclical Magni Nobis,[10] granting the university its charter and establishing its mission as the instruction of Catholicism and human nature together at the graduate level. By developing new leaders and new knowledge, the university was intended to strengthen and enrich Catholicism in the United States.[11]

The university was incorporated in 1887 on 66 acres (27 ha) of land next to the Old Soldiers Home.[9] President Grover Cleveland was in attendance for the laying of the cornerstone of Divinity Hall, now known as Caldwell Hall, on May 24, 1888, as were members of Congress and the U.S. Cabinet.

An aerial view of campus in 1920

A blimp over Gibbons Hall during the 1917–18 school year.

When the university first opened on November 13, 1889, the curriculum consisted of lectures in mental and moral philosophy, English literature, the sacred scriptures, and the various branches of theology. At the end of the second term, lectures on canon law were added. The first students were graduated in 1889.[9] by 1900 CUA was one of the 14 colleges that offered doctorate programs which formed the Association of American Universities.[9]

In 1904, the university added an undergraduate program. The president of the first undergraduate class was Frank Kuntz, whose memoir of that period was published by the Catholic University of America Press. The university gives an annual award named for Kuntz.[12]

Bishop and Rector Thomas J. Shahan gave a speech to the Ancient Order of Hibernians in 1894 in which he advocated for Irish independence in language, culture, and politics. This resulted in the Hibernians endowing a chair of Gaelic Languages and Literature at the university.[13] Only Harvard University had a similar position at the time, and this attracted the attention of William Butler Yeats.[13] During a trip to the United States, Yeats spoke to students in McMahon Hall on February 21, 1904.[13] In a follow-up letter to Shahan, he said: "you have surely a great university and I wish we had its like in Ireland."[13]

Despite Washington being a Southern and segregated city when the university was founded, it admitted black Catholic men as students.[14] At the time, the only other college in the District to do so was Howard University, founded for African-American education after the Civil War.[14] In 1895, Catholic University had three black students, all from DC. "They were simply tested as to their previous education, and this being found satisfactory, no notice whatever was taken of their color. They stand on exactly the same footing as other students of equal intellectual calibre and acquirements", according to Keane.[14] Conaty, speaking to President William McKinley during a visit on June 1, 1900, said that the university, "like the Catholic Church ... knows no race line and no color line."[14]

This policy was reversed in 1914, with CUA kowtowing to segregationist policies and commencing denial of admissions to Black students. They would return to the interracial standard a little over two decades later, following protests from Thomas Wyatt Turner and the Catholic Interracial Council.[15] In 1935, the university's coat of arms was designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose.[16]

A victory parade for the 1936 Orange Bowl Champions went up Pennsylvania Avenue on its circular route from Union Station to campus. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "on his way to church, became an unwitting parader, when the march de triumph jammed traffic in front of the White House."[17][18]

In 1938, due to the rise of the antisemitic priest Charles Coughlin and not long after Kristallnacht, CUA officials asked CBS and NBC broadcast an event live from the university campus.[19] The participating clerics did not mention Coughlin, and barely mentioned Nazi conduct by name, while offering general support for Jews.[19] The broadcast had little effect as Coughlin continued on as before and the Vatican refused to speak against Naziism.[19]

In 1954, Columbus University merged with the law program of CUA to become the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America,[20] after the American Bar Association in 1951 challenged law schools not affiliated with a university. The CUA law school was the first professional school of the university.

The presence of CUA attracted other Catholic institutions to the area, including colleges, religious orders, and national service organizations. Between 1900 and 1940, more than 50 international Catholic institutions rented or owned property in neighboring Brookland. During the post-World War II years, Catholic University had a dramatic expansion in enrollment, thanks to veterans making use of the G.I. Bill to complete college educations. By the early 21st century, the university has over 6,000 students from all 50 states and around the world.

In 2018 the university experienced some challenges as administrators worked to reduce a $3.5 million deficit. Some faculty objected to the draft plan and voted "no confidence" in the president and provost.[21]

The Knights of Columbus presented a check to the Catholic University of America on the steps of the university's McMahon Hall in 1904 to establish a Chair of American History.

The Knights of Columbus and The Catholic University of America have a history of "a close and supportive relationship" that dates almost to the founding of the university.[20][22]

In 1899 the National Council of the K of C established a Knights of Columbus Chair of American History at the university.[20] More than 10,000 Knights were on hand on April 13, 1904 to present a $55,633.79 check[23] ($1,399,831.80 in 2012 dollars[24]) to endow the Chair.[20]

In December 1904 Cardinal Gibbons appealed to the Knights for more financial aid to help meet operating costs after some investments went sour. The Order gave nearly $25,000.[23] By 1907 the financial situation of Catholic University had improved but was still shaky. Every Knight was asked to contribute $1 a year for a five-year period, and in December 1913, a $500,000 endowment was established.[20][23]

In 1920 the order contributed $60,000 toward the Catholic University gymnasium and drill hall, which later was adapted for use as the Crough Building housing the School of Architecture. In 2006, the Knights announced an $8,000,000 gift to the university to renovate Keane Hall and rename it as McGivney Hall, after the Knights' founder, Michael J. McGivney.[20][25] The building, which was vacant, now houses the Washington session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, which was funded by the Knights and established at the Dominican House of Studies adjacent to the CUA campus in 1988.[23][26]

A $1,000,000 trust was established in August 1965 to fund the Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarship, providing twelve undergraduate scholarships annually to the university.[27] In 1989 the Knights voted a $2,000,000 birthday gift to the U.S. bishops on their bicentennial, to be given to Catholic University and used to fund special projects jointly chosen by the university and the Knights.[20][23] Part of it was used to build the Columbus School of Law.[23]

CUA is the only American university to have been visited by three popes and is one of only two universities to have any visits by a pontiff.[9] Pope John Paul II visited on October 7, 1979.[28] On April 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI gave an address at the campus about Catholic education and academic freedom.[29][30] Pope Francis visited on September 23, 2015 during his trip to the United States, where he celebrated Mass on the east portico of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.[31]

In 2015 CUA began a partnership with the Australian Catholic University to effectively own and operate a second campus in Rome, Italy. It is housed in a former convent and includes a chapel.[38] Before being sent home during the COVID-19 pandemic, 35 students were at the campus.[38]

In 2020, a partnership with Pima Community College created a satellite campus in Tucson, Arizona.[39]

CUA has environmental sustainability programs, including participation in Earth Day, Casey Trees tree planting, and Campus Beautification Day. CUA's newest building, Opus Hall, is LEED-compliant, and the school buys 30% of its electricity from green sources.[40] CUA participated in the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card rating.[40][41][42]

In 2009, the School of Architecture and Planning introduced a Master of Science program in sustainable design.[40]

CUA is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".[63] According to the National Science Foundation, CUA spent $25.5 million on research and development in 2018.[64]

Over time, several national Catholic scholarly associations became based at the university, including the Catholic Biblical Association of America, publisher of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and (for many years) the American Catholic Philosophical Association. The university is also home to the Catholic University of America Press.

Research institutes located here include:

• Center for Advanced Training in Cell and Molecular Biology
• Center for Advancement of Catholic Education
• Center for American Catholic Studies
• Center for Catalan Studies
• Center for Irish Studies
• Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies
• Center for Pastoral Studies
• Center for the Study of Culture and Values
• Center for the Study of Early Christianity
• Center for the Study of Energy and Environmental Stewardship
• Center for Ward Method Studies
• Homecare and Telerehabilitation Technology Center
• Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences
• Institute for Biomolecular Studies
• Institute for Christian Oriental Research
• Institute for Communications Law Studies
• Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies (formerly the Life Cycle Institute)
• Institute for Sacred Music
• Institute for Social Justice
• Institute of Musical Arts
• Latin American Center for Graduate Studies in Music
• Vitreous State Laboratory

The university offers facilities at John K. Mullen of Denver Memorial Library, the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, as well as separate libraries on the campus for Architecture and Planning, Biology, Music, Nursing, and Physics.[65] A special autonomous library, the Oliveira Lima Library (sometimes referred to as the Ibero-American Library), houses one of the largest collections of rare books on history and literature of Portuguese Brazilian culture outside of Brazil.[66]

In 2019, a partnership with Pima Community College was announced whereby students could earn an associate degree from Pima and a bachelor's degree in business management from Catholic University.[39][67]

Over the course of the program, two-thirds of courses will be taken remotely and one-third will be taken on the Pima campus.[67][39][68] Some local business leaders will serve as adjunct professors.[69]

Between 20 and 25 students will initially be admitted to the program, which has a total four year cost of $32,000.[67][68][69]

Catholic University officials recognized that most Hispanics in the United States are Catholics but historically have not had access to Catholic higher education in their areas.[69] According to a University press release, an analysis by Catholic University found that of "the 25 U.S. cities with the largest total increases in the Hispanic population, nine have no Catholic college or university in close proximity."[70] Given this, in 2017, Catholic University began exploring partnerships with existing institutions in the Southwest.[69][68] Several cities with large populations of Hispanics and Catholics were considered when then-Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild heard of Catholic University's desire to open a satellite campus.[69] He called the University's provost and then connected the provost with the bishop.[69][71]

Marist Hall (1899)

The university continues to be under censure by the American Association of University Professors for academic freedom violations and continues to ban certain speakers from campus.[72]

Caldwell Hall

In 1967, a tenured professor of theology Reverend Charles E. Curran was fired for his views on birth control but was reinstated after a five-day faculty-led strike.[73] In 1986, the Vatican declared that Curran could no longer teach theology at Catholic University after the Curia department in charge of promulgating Catholic doctrine, headed by Josef Ratzinger, decided he was unfit. The areas of dispute included publishing articles that debated theological and ethical views regarding divorce, artificial contraception, masturbation, pre-marital intercourse, and homosexual acts.[74]

As noted in the American Association of University Professors report, "Had it not been for the intervention of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Professor Curran would undoubtedly still be active in the university's Department of Theology, a popular teacher, honored theologian, and respected colleague."[74] Curran's attorneys argued that CUA did not follow proper procedures or its policy statements in handling the case. In response, CUA claimed that the Vatican's actions against Curran trumped any campus-based policy or tenure rules. In 1989, Curran filed suit against Catholic University, claiming unlawfully termination. Curran's case was ultimately dismissed; the court found Catholic University had the right to fire Curran for teaching theology from a viewpoint that contradicted to the school's religion.[75]

In 1990, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) defended Curran and censured Catholic University's administration for failing to adhere to the AAUP's Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. The AAUP found that "unsatisfactory conditions of academic freedom and tenure have been found to prevail" at The Catholic University of America.[76] As of December 2020, the administration of Catholic University remains on the list of censured institutions.[77] AAUP censure is a purely symbolic designation that does not effect an institution's accreditation or the standing of AAUP members and prospective members on the faculty at a school whose administration remains under censure.[78] The AAUP regularly censures religiously affiliated colleges and universities for similar reasons, leading some to criticize the organization's methodology and impartiality.[79]

The administration of Catholic University has consistently reached out to the AAUP to explore lifting the censure. The two conditions for having the censure removed are inviting Curran, whose license to teach Catholic theology had been suspended by the Vatican, back to campus and changing the university's "Statement on Academic Freedom."[80] President David M. O'Connell refused to do either, stating, "Every American university has a right to govern itself according to its own identity, mission, standards, and procedures."[80] The Vatican's decision regarding Curran's qualifications to teach Catholic theology was made unilaterally and is unlikely to change unless Curran's stances come into compliance with Church teachings. The Catholic University of America's bylaws require the school to comply with relevant Vatican policies and designates that the Archbishop of Washington D.C., who is chosen by the Vatican, is ex officio the school's chancellor.[81][82] This system makes it extremely unlikely Catholic University will amend the school's charter and come into compliance with the current conditions expressed by the AAUP for lifting their censure of the school's administration.

Pope Benedict XVI about to address the crowd in 2008

The university as a policy does not allow outside guests to speak on campus to any audience if they have previously expressed an opinion on abortion or other serious issues conflicting with the Catholic Church's teaching. Applying this policy in 2004, CUA was criticized for rescinding Stanley Tucci's invitation for a seminar about Italian cinema, because he had lent past support for Planned Parenthood.[83]

The next year, in 2005, the school was criticized for initially rejecting an application for recognition of a student chapter of the NAACP; one of the reasons officials cited in its rejection was the national organization's pro-choice stance.[84] In 2006 the CUA administration barred a student-run on-campus performance of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

In 2009, the school made its speaker policy more stringent, prohibiting all candidates for political office from speaking on campus. Representatives of both Democratic and Republican clubs on campus have criticized the decision.[85]

The music and drama programs, as part of a class, stage productions each semester, performances ranging from Broadway productions to plays and operas. Catholic University students also participate in a Symphony orchestra and choral groups, including a cappella groups Take Note and RedLine.[89]

There have been several songs associated with the university over the years.[90] The most recent fight song, written by Steve Schatz, was adopted in 2002. The original fight song, "The Flying Cardinals", dates back to before the 1930s.[91] There are two alma maters, considered to be the university's official songs. The first, "Hail CUA" was set to music composed by Victor Herbert and was adopted in 1920.[91] The other, Guardians of Truth by Fr. Thomas McLean, actually came in 2nd place in the 1920 competition but was widely adopted in the ensuing years.[91]

Albert Von Tilzer, composer of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, wrote two songs for the university, We're Rooting For You and CU Will Shine Tonight. The earliest sports song, Through the Town, dates from 1916.[90] Drink a Highball was a popular song during Prohibition. In honor of the university's 125th anniversary, an hour-long nostalgic musical revue was performed.[92]

84% of undergraduates and 59% of graduate students self-identify as Catholic. The campus ministry has two groups of student ministers: the "resident ministers" who live in residence halls and focus primarily on upperclassmen and the "house members", who focus on freshmen.

The Friday Night Planning Committee works with the house members to plan activities for Friday nights that are alcohol-free. Campus ministry also coordinates university liturgies, plans and runs retreats, and operates the online Prayernet.

Students field club teams in sports including cheerleading, ice hockey, rugby, sailing and lacrosse.

• The ice hockey team competes in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) of the ACHA and plays at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena in Washington, D.C. The team won the Mason-Dixon Collegiate Hockey Association (MDCHA) Championship in 2009, the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference (BRHC) Championship in 2015, and the DVCHC Patriot Division Championship in 2019.
• The men's club lacrosse team competes in Division 2 of the Chesapeake Conference in the National College Lacrosse League. The team has secured the NCLL Division 2 National Championship for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
• The men's rugby team competes in the Potomac Rugby Conference of the NSCRO.
• The women's rugby team competes in the Capital Rugby Union of the NSCRO.
• The sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association of the ICSA.