John Carroll University

In 1886, the Society of Jesus established St. Ignatius College in Cleveland, Ohio. Saint Ignatius was the founder of the Society of Jesus, an order within the Roman Catholic Church. For the first eighty-two years of this institution’s existence, only men could enroll. In 1923, St. Ignatius College became John Carroll University. John Carroll was the first Catholic archbishop in the United States. Twelve years later, the university relocated to a suburb of Cleveland known as University Heights. During the 1968-1969 school year, John Carroll University admitted women for the first time, making the institution coeducational, however women were only allowed to enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences at first.

John Carroll University encourages students to dedicate their lives to helping others. While founded by the Jesuits, the institution welcomes students and faculty of all religious backgrounds. In 2005, approximately 4,200 students attended the university, with sixty-five percent of the students being from Ohio. Seventy-three percent of the students were Catholic, and women comprised fifty-four percent of the student population. It was one of twenty-eight institutions of higher education operated by the Jesuits in the United States.