Webster University is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

with its main campus in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring Greater St. Louis, suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 24,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster Universit ...

, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni network of around 170,000 graduates worldwide.

History

The college was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College, a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

women's college, one of the first west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. One of the early founders was Mother Praxedes Carty. Its name was changed to Webster College, after Senator Daniel Webster, in 1924. The first male students were admitted in 1962. The

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

transferred ownership of the college to a lay Board of Directors in 1967; it was the first Catholic college in the United States to be totally under lay control. In 1983, Webster College's name was changed to Webster University. Webster was involved in the early

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

battles in St. Louis. During the early 1940s, many local

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

, especially the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, challenged the

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

policies at the city's Catholic colleges and

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

s. The St. Louis chapter of the Midwest Clergy Conference on Negro Welfare arranged in 1943 for Webster College to admit a black female student, Mary Aloyse Foster, which would make it the city's first Catholic college to integrate. However, in 1943 Archbishop John J. Glennon blocked that student's enrollment by speaking privately with the

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

-based

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Sisters of Loretto. The '' Pittsburgh Courier'', an African-American newspaper with national circulation, discovered Glennon's actions and ran a front-page feature on the Webster incident in February 1944. The negative publicity toward Glennon's segregationist policies led

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

to begin admitting African American students in summer 1944. In the fall of 1945, Webster College responded to pressure by admitting Irene Thomas, a Catholic African-American woman from St. Louis, as a music major. In the 1960s, the school dropped its Catholic affiliation following the issuance of the Land O'Lakes Statement. The school's then-president, Jacqueline Grennan, renounced her religious vows and continued as head of what had effectively become a secular institution.

Academics

Colleges include: * College of Humanities & Social Sciences * College of Health and Science * Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts * George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology * School of Communications * School of Education. Webster University is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. Specific programs are accredited by specialized accreditors, including the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the

National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Resto ...

(NASM), the National League for Nursing (NLN), the Council on Accreditation (COA), the

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 1954 and was recognized as an accreditor by ...

(NCATE), the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the National Board for Certified Counselors. In 2023, Webster University was ranked 22nd among regional universities (Midwest) by ''U.S. News & World Report''.

Partnerships

Webster University maintains a Confucius Institute in partnership with Beijing Language and Culture University. In 2019, US senator

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...

asked Webster University to close its Confucius Institute.

Campus

Webster University's home campus is located in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis. Many of the domestic campuses are located near military bases; some are located in various metropolitan areas. The international campuses are located in several European countries including

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Georgia, and The Netherlands; several are also located in Asia, such as in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and China. In addition to its own international campuses, Webster has also formed partnerships with a few universities that are based in their countries of interest. For example, The Webster Graduate School was until 2015 tied with

Regent's University London Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...

; and Webster maintains a relationship with

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a Private school, private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai, Osaka, Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as ...

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

and with The Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. Recently, Webster started a study abroad program in Greece. In 2015, Webster released a report on its Thailand campus citing several issues, including badly inadequate facilities and a culture of distrust between students and the administration. The report also cited several strengths on the campus, including strong academics and financial stability, saying "recruitment, marketing and admissions" are an area of strength for the campus. One month after the internal report was issued, a campus ombudsman was appointed to address the communications issues and to bring the Thailand campus more in-line with the home campus' policies. file:Webster University's Webster Hall - 2012.JPG, Webster Hall File:Webster University (1444252375).jpg, Loretto Hall in 2007 File:Webster University-Geneva Campus.jpg, The Campus in Geneva, Switzerland File:Webster University (Oude Rijn) Leiden.jpg, Campus in Leiden File:Webster University Ghana Campus Welcome - November 2013.jpg, Campus in Ghana

Athletics

Webster University's athletic mascot is the Gorlok, named in honor of the school's location at the corner of Gore and Lockwood Avenues in Webster Groves. Athletic teams participate in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III and in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). * Men's sports: baseball; basketball; cross country; golf; soccer; tennis; and, track and field * Women's sports: basketball; cross country; soccer; softball; tennis; track and field; and, volleyball Webster's Baseball Team has made back to back trips to the Division III World Series placing fifth in both 2012 and 2013. They also made the Division III World Series in 2015. They made it to the regional Division III championship in 2014 but were defeated in the first round. Major League pitcher Josh Fleming played for Webster. Webster's chess team has won more national titles than any college team in the country and has been ranked #1 continuously since 2012.

Student life

Webster University, in Fall 2014, enrolled 5,010 undergraduate students and 17,190 graduate students. The average SAT composite score for the undergraduate class was 1,194. The average ACT composite score was 24. Students come from 49 states and more than 122 countries. Webster University St. Louis has a

student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...

called ''The Journal'' and a student radio station called The Galaxy. The Galaxy was re-launched online in 2007. Webster University has other e-newsletters such as Webster Today and departmental publications. Webster University recently allowed the formation of the first Greek organization on its St. Louis campus, with the founding of the 152nd Chapter of Delta Upsilon and the founding of the Gamma Zeta chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon.

Notable people

Faculty

Professors for the university have included Chess grandmaster Susan Polgar, actor/dancer Lara Teeter, dancer Alicia Graf Mack, poet David Clewell, video artist Van McElwee, political scientists Daniel Hellinger and Johannes Pollak, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Violence Against Women Rashida Manjoo, activist and writer Sulak Sivaraksa, sound engineer Bill Porter, Holocaust scholar Harry J. Cargas, and former Missouri Governor Bob Holden.

Alumni

There were over 190,000 alumni as of 2017. They include: * Lloyd James Austin III, 28th

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

and Army four-star general * John Boccieri, U.S. Congressman * Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin State Supreme Court justice * William Broad,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * Norbert Leo Butz, Tony Award-winning actor * Eileen Collins, astronaut * Debra Drexler, painter, installation artist, curator * Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, television producer *

Nathan Lee Graham Nathan Lee Graham (born September 9, 1968) is an American actor and singer. He is known for film roles such as ''Zoolander'' and ''Theater Camp'' and stage roles such as ''The Wild Party (LaChiusa musical), The Wild Party'' and ''Priscilla, Queen ...

, actor and cabaret artist * Sidney M. Gutierrez, astronaut * Clarence Harmon, former mayor and chief of police for St. Louis * Jane Ellen Ibur, poet and arts educator * R. Alan King, military veteran (Panama and Iraq) and author of ''Twice Armed: An American Soldier's Battle for Hearts and Minds in Iraq'' – Winner of 2008 William E. Colby Award * Jenifer Lewis, television, screen, and stage actress * Sandra Mansour, fashion designer * Marsha Mason, four-time Academy Award-nominated actress * Jerry Mitchell, Tony Award-winning choreographer and director * Leyna Nguyen, news anchor and three-time Emmy awardee * Richard Ojeda, Bronze Star recipient,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

veteran of Afghan and Iraq conflicts, and West Virginia state senator * Rob Riggle, comedian, television star and sports commentator * Roderick Royal, mayor of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...

, president of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

References

External links