Immaculate Heart College (1905–1981) was a private,

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college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

located in

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. The college offered various courses including art and

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

studies.

History

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded, owned, and conducted the Immaculate Heart High School in 1905 in Los Angeles, California. It has six female graduates by June 1906. In the following decades, both Immaculate Heart High School and the College soon established their reputations as an excellent university preparatory schools for girls and

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

centers respectively. By far the majority of the high school's more than 10,000 graduates continued their education at colleges and universities nationwide. The college was affilited with the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

. It was accredited by the Western College Association. In the late 1960s, in response to directives from

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

as well as participation in therapy experiments run by researchers from the

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, the Sisters followed the guidance of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

and conducted an extensive review of their structure and proposed changes in how they prayed, worked, lived together and governed themselves. However, the Archbishop of

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, Cardinal

James Francis McIntyre James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (June 25, 1886 – July 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, and was created a cardinal in 1953. He was a highly successful builder ...

, was opposed to all of the sisters' proposed changes, leading to a public dispute where he ordered the removal of all Immaculate Heart Sisters teaching in Los Angeles diocesan schools, and finally presented the Community with an ultimatum: either conform to the standards of traditional religious life or seek dispensation from vows. In the end, 90% chose to dispense from their vows and reorganize as a

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(

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), The Immaculate Heart Community, a voluntary lay community.TIME Magazine
The Immaculate Heart Rebels
February 16, 1970 Patricia Reif played an important part in encouraging the establishment of an ecumenical community.

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christian ...

was a member of the community and obtained her degree from IHC; she taught art at the college between 1938 and 1968. The college closed in 1981 due to financial difficulties; its successor was the Immaculate Heart College Center,Leslie Wirpsa, eminist spirituality core of unique M.A - Immaculate Heart College Center of Los Angeles offers the only master's program on women's spirituality ''National Catholic Reporter'', December 12, 1997. which closed in 2000.

Campus

Immaculate Heart College was located on a property on Franklin Avenue at the head of Western Avenue in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It shared the property with the Immaculate Heart Convent and Immaculate Heart High School. Its main building was constructed in 1905 in Moorish and Mission architectural styles. It included classrooms, student boarding facilities, offices, and the living quarters of the sisters. This building was torn down in 1973 after being damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and was replaced with a new classroom building. Its Student Union Building, later called the Jo Anne Cotsen Building, was purchased by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in 1983.History IHM Community
, The Immaculate Heart Community. The campus also included a library.

Academics

The college offered various courses including art and

studies. It granted Bachelors' degrees, Master's degrees, and teaching and library science credentials. The high school specialized in preparing its students for university education.

Notable alumni

The female and male graduates of the college went on to become distinction as artists, musicians, educators, journalists, doctors, lawyers, judges, and stars of stage and screen. Some Immaculate Heart women were pioneers in professions not accustomed to having women. * Karen Boccalero (1933–1997), nun, artist, founder of Self-Help Graphics & Art in Los Angeles * Charlotte Caffey (born 1953), musician and songwriter, "

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American all-female Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar ...

" * Lucia Capacchione (1937–2022), art therapist * Pat Carroll (1927–2022), voice actress and actress well known for the voice of Ursula in ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

'' *

Demi Demi is a feminine given name with Greek and Latin roots, and it is a surname with Albanian origins. Demi was originally a nickname of Demetria, the feminine form of the masculine name Demetrius, which is itself the Latin and English spelling of ...

(born 1942), author and illustrator *

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

(born 1931), actress, '' Police Woman'' *

(1918–1986), nun, artist, and professor * Cheryl Metoyer-Duran, researcher and professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

known for her work on Indigenous knowledge *

Cherríe Moraga Cherríe Moraga (born September 25, 1952) is an influential Chicana feminist writer, activist, poet, essayist, and playwright. A prominent figure in Chicana literature and feminist theory, Moraga's work explores the intersections of gender, sex ...

(born 1952), playwright and activist * Grace Perreiah (born 1936), artist and printmaker * Mark Ridley-Thomas (born 1954), California legislator * Joey Terrill (born 1955), American visual artist * Helena Maria Viramontes (born 1954), novelist and short story writer, professor of English at Cornell University *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

(born 1947), Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer

References

External links

Official Immaculate Heart Community WebsiteThe Corita Art Center
part of the Community {{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in California Defunct Catholic universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1916 Educational institutions disestablished in 1981 1916 establishments in California