Seton Hill University

      Three members of the Class of 1920 insert “Lowe Hall” into the text of an ad placed by the Duquesne Construction Company in the Setonian newspaper in honor of Mother Aloysia Lowe.  Triumphant yet apprehensive, the young women confide in Father Sullivan what they did. He replies, “All right; now we’ll clinch it,” and proceeds with inscribing the new name on a plaque for the building. 

      On June 8, 1920, the first Senior Ivy Planting for the west wall of Lowe Hall and the first Junior tree planting takes place.

     Seton Hill installs Mother Mary Raymond Creed as the Second President of the College.  Under her leadership, the College increased its assets from $500,000 to more than $2 million dollars, constructed two new residence halls and doubled its library holdings.

     Mother Mary Joseph Havey sends six Sisters of Charity to assist the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans during the summer of 1921 with preparing the novitiates for careers in teaching throughout the city’s segregated school system.  The first year is met with such success that the partnership continues for nearly thirty years.

     The early graduates of the College establish the Seton Hill Alumnae Corporation.  Their first act of business is to host a Thanksgiving Eve Ball to raise scholarship funds for Seton Hill College.  Over 500 guests attend the event in the William Penn Hotel Ballroom to build scholarship support for Seton Hill women.

     Students enjoy ice skating and hockey on Lake Regina located at the bottom of Seton Hill Drive where wetlands are found today.

     Seton Hill installs Mother Rose Genevieve Rodgers as the third president of Seton Hill. She is also the last college president to serve concurrently as Mother Superior to the Sisters of Charity.  She served as Mother Superior until 1930 and then again from 1936 until her retirement in 1939.

     The Sisters plant 109 sycamore trees along both sides of the University’s entrance drive; their branches now form a leafy archway from the bottom of the hill to the top.

     A second student residence hall, Canevin Hall, is opened. The building is named for Archbishop J. F. Regis Canevin, Bishop of Pittsburgh, who supported and encouraged the Sisters in their pursuit of a charter for Seton Hill College.

     Seton Hill installs Rev. Daniel Richard Sullivan as fourth president, the first president not to come from the ranks of the Sisters of Charity.  

Father Sullivan composes the words to Seton Hill’s Alma Mater and selects the school’s motto, “Hazard Yet Forward;” also the motto of the Seton family crest that dates back to the twelfth century. The school’s colors, crimson and gold, are also the Seton family’s colors.

     Father Sullivan inscribed on a key to Saint Mary Hall, in commemoration of the original sisters who arrived in 1870:

     "I opened not merely the door to this house. I swung the gates of an era."

     Sister Florence Marie Scott graduates from Seton Hill in 1926, earns her master’s of science degree from Columbia University in 1927, and her doctorate in 1935.  For more than thirty years, Sr. Florence Marie would spend her summers at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 

     In 1964, she was elected as the first woman trustee of the Woods Hole Laboratory.  She continued to receive grants from the National Institute of Health to sponsor her research on embryology as well as conduct research at the International Station for Biologists in Naples, Italy.  In their centennial publication, 100 Years of Exploring Life at Woods Hole, colleagues recall with fondness that Sr. Florence Marie was so popular that she almost dreaded walking through the small Massachusetts town.  She was equipped with a “wonderful sense of humor” that gave her an ability to “break down any prejudices that nuns could not do science.”

     St. Mary Hall becomes the home of the Home Management House, offering students practical experience in running a home and taking care of children under the leadership of Sister Rose Angela Cunningham.

     President Sullivan assists in founding a debate club on campus, which gains notoriety as the young women match wits with students from Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Andrew's in Scotland.

     Designed in a Norman Chateau style, Sullivan Hall contains a gymnasium and swimming pool. Through the years it has also housed a bowling alley, student lounges, student club offices, weight rooms, laundry rooms, athletics offices, cafes and the campus bookstore. It was originally named the Activities Building until was later renamed in 1947 in honor of Seton Hill’s fourth president, Rev. Daniel Richard Sullivan.

     The first Alumnae Corporation Quarterly, a newsletter for Seton Hill alumni and friends, is published.

     Father Sullivan’s final act as president of Seton Hill is to develop a highly-regarded curriculum for honors students that endures today.  Among the program’s first graduates is 1932 graduate and seventh president of Seton Hill, Sr. Mary Thecla Schmidt.

       Seton Hill installs Rev. James A. Wallace Reeves as fifth president of Seton Hill after the death of President Sullivan.  Father Reeves formerly served as a member of the faculty and Vice President, overseeing the educational activities of the College. 

      Seton Hill trains student teachers under a cadet system that requires them to teach for at least a year and graduate within five years.  The program begins under the care of Helen Schmaedel, chair of the Education department, and sends students to various public and parochial schools throughout the region.

     Sister Maurice McManama, a professional psychologist, begins her more than 40-year teaching career at the college.

     The tradition of Christmas on the Hill began in the 1890s when young women attending St. Joseph Academy, a predecessor to Seton Hill, could not return home for the winter recess.  The Sisters would break from their routine of dining separately from the academy women and personally serve a prepared holiday meal in the student dining room.  This 128-year old event remains a highlight of the student experience and is a memory treasured by all alumni through the years.

     The photo (pictured left) features the students of 1938 attending Christmas on the Hill in Lowe Dining Hall.

       Maryglen Cabin, a grove of trees located at the northwest corner of the campus behind Brownlee Hall and named in honor of Mother Claudia Glenn, was the frequent setting for picnics, corn roasts and other social gatherings.  It was taken down in 1965 to accommodate the construction of Brownlee Hall.

       Students enjoy a toboggan ride on the Hill.

       A campus observatory was opened as a result of generous gifts from the classes of 1940 and 1943.  It was later replaced by Reeves Memorial Library and Havey Hall in 1958.

       As World War II rages against Hiltler's Germany, the Von Trapp Family Singers perform a concert on February 21 at Seton Hill.

       In 1946, the Sisters and faculty at Seton Hill welcome 40 male World War II veterans who are required to live off-campus. While legal constraints prevented the College from conferring degrees to the veterans, many used their credits to enroll in other institutions and pursue careers in business, government, medicine, science and engineering. 

       Seton Hill's College Orchestra performs in Sullivan Hall.

       The death of Father Reeves prompts the initiation of Seton Hill’s first public fundraising campaign (totaling more than $500,000) for a free-standing library to be named in the late president’s memory.  Alumni surpass their goal of $100,000 and rally to support half of the building’s cost.  

       Mother Maria Benedict Monahan serves as interim president following the death of Father Reeves.

       Msgr. William Granger Ryan is inaugurated as the sixth president of Seton Hill.  A celebrated scholar of modern languages, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette refers to him as “a tall, lean mixture of Irish charm and French elegance.”  His presidency is marked by the post-war boom that includes record enrollments and significant physical expansion of the College.

       The swings at Seton Hill have been a feature of the campus since the days of St. Joseph's Academy.  They have been the setting for conversations, laughter, and reflection for many decades. Classes have frequently met on and around the swings lending themselves to offering a warm and intimate environment that has been the hallmark of a Seton Hill education.  They continue to provide a quiet place for individual and group study and are a great place to relax and enjoy the weather and the many views throughout campus.

        Sr. Maurice McManama, chair of the Psychology Department, and Sr. Rose Angela Cunningham, chair of the Home Economics Department, open a nursery school known today as the Child Development Center. Pictured here with the children is Suzanne Lauble O'Neill, B.S. class of 1952.

      The Class of 1952 is the first class to create a yearbook, which becomes a tradition among later classes.  Sr. Mary Schmidt, a faculty member at the time, names it Chevron.

      Students participate in archery at the bowling alley located in Sullivan Hall.

       While liberal arts colleges initially had only one standard curriculum, specializations like art and music were beginning to take hold in preparation for professions as teachers.  Sr. Estelle Hensler is appointed as the first chair of the art department.

       Students play field hockey.

       Dedicated on September 30, 1958, Reeves Library is named for Seton Hill’s fifth president, Fr. James A.W. Reeves.  The building was later renovated to become Reeves Learning Commons in 2013 to accommodate changes in student study preferences.  Havey Hall, a student residence named after the first president of the College, Mother Mary Joseph Havey, opens later in the fall.

       General Carlos Romulo speaks at Seton Hill as part of the Thomas Lynch Lecture Series.  Romulo served as president of the United Nations General Assembly after World War II.  Prior to his leadership post, he served with General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific and became the first non-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Correspondence in 1942.  During his visit to Seton Hill, Romulo served as Ambassador to the United States from the Republic of the Phillipines.

       On October 26, 1963, President Ryan presents the Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal at the Fall Convocation to its inaugural recipient: Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy. 

       More than 1,500 people crowd onto the Hilltop campus to witness the event in celebration of Elizabeth Ann Seton’s beatification.

      A delegation of 15 Sisters of Charity, along with President William Granger Ryan, travel to Rome Italy to witness the beatification of Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

       Brownlee Hall, named for Sr. Francesca Brownlee, the first academic dean of the College, was opened in the fall of 1965 as a student residence.

      During this year, the Sisters jettison their iconic “black caps” and gowns for modified, modern habits upon the recommendation of Pope Pius XII and the Second Vatican Council. At the same time, the Sisters relax the dress code for the young women who no longer have to don white hats, gloves, and overcoats to walk in downtown Greensburg.

      Seton Hill and St. Vincent Colleges agree to begin a cooperative program that expanded course offerings for students from both schools.  A bus between the schools runs daily for students to attend classes between both campuses.

       Seton Hill College celebrates its 50th anniversary with a four-day celebration in 1968.  Katherine Elkus White, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, made keynote remarks to the students at Seton Hill. 200 colleges and universities attend an academic convocation to celebrate the College’s founding. 

      The College's Charter is amended to reflect the new composition of the Board of Trustees, with half of the members being lay representatives and the other half being members of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.

      Investment banker and local philanthropist Charles McKenna Lynch, Jr. is elected as the first lay chair of the Seton Hill Board of Trustees.  Alumna Helen Hickey '37 is elected by the Board to serve as Vice-Chair.  Hickey was the niece of Seton Hill President Daniel R. Sullivan and established a prominent career at the J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in New York City.

       Clay Frick Lynch Hall, named for Greensburg business and long-time friend of Seton Hill, opened in 1970 and featured chemistry and biology laboratories.  The first floor of Maura Hall was also renovated into biology laboratories and named in memory of Sr. Florence Marie Scott who died in 1965.

       A 1970 Vietnam War protest down Seton Hill drive.

       Seton Hill installs Sr. Mary Thecla Schmidt as the seventh president of the College.  She previously serves as acting president in 1970 after the retirement of President William Granger Ryan and previously served as the Executive Vice President since 1961 in President Ryan’s administration. Her tenure was marked by the creation of new pre-professional academic programs and the introduction of field work and internship opportunities in the curriculum.

       Shirley Chisholm addresses Seton Hill as the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968.  One year prior to her appearance at Seton Hill, Congresswoman Chisholm became the first black candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States.  She died in 2005 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously, in 2015.

       Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the Sisters of Charity, is canonized on September 14, 1975, making her the first American-born saint. Two planeloads of Seton Hill alumnae and approximately 100 sisters from the Seton Hill community sojourn to Rome for the celebration.  The College and the Sisters of Charity host a grand two-day celebration complete with trumpeters on rooftops. 

       Bayley Hall, the new home economics building located adjacent to Lowe Hall, opened in the fall of 1976. It is named in honor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, whose maiden name was Bayley.

       Seton Hill installs Eileen Farrell as the eighth president. Seton Hill’s first lay president, Ms. Farrell was a 1946 graduate of Seton Hill. “Seton Hill College since its inception has been concerned with the education of the whole person, the development of her intellect and her character,” she said in an interview with the Tribune-Review on November 14, 1977. “I intend to continue to move the College in this direction.”  During her tenure, she increased the endowment by 50 percent, revised the curriculum, and initiated an adult degree program.

       Josefa Filkosky succeeds her long-time mentor and colleague, Sr. Estelle Hensler, as chair of the art department.  A pioneer in minimalist art, Josefa was known for her use of steel beams and tubing to create beautiful, sleek three-dimensional forms that won her international and national recognition.  Her works are housed in private and corporate collections, museums and public spaces across the country. 

       According to art critic J.H. Brundage, Ms. Filkosky’s sculptures “…do not so much fill space as capture it and set it into motion.  With even her largest pieces, one of them seven feet tall, there is a sense of freedom, the liberation of human forces within a manmade space.  One never feels crowded by a Filkosky design, but rather is drawn towards it and into it because of its openness and its poised and peaceful celebration of grace and harmony in art.  The quality of dignity and spirituality is no chance discovery for the artist has carefully composed shapes and lines that observe the laws of mathematics and geometry, resulting in a sense of infinity.  Some of the simplest of most ancient temples in the world’s history of architecture have this kind of living perfection.” 

       Art Buchwald visits Seton Hill at the height of his career as a humorist best known for his column in the Washington Post.  The column was so successful that it was syndicated in more than 550 newspapers across the country.  He focused on political satire and commentary and received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982.  He was elected in 1986 to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

       The first computer arrives on Seton Hill's campus.

       Maya Angelou, the renowned poet, civil rights activist and author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," speaks at Seton Hill.

       A scholarship for English majors is established in honor of long-time English department chair, Sr. Miriam Jo Murphy.

       The College builds on its adult education program and confers degrees to adult students in 1985. The tradition of educating non-traditional students goes back to the College’s original charter, “Persons of mature years and of good character, who, without being candidates for degrees, wish to broaden the scope of their scholarship, are admitted…” 

Students Revealing "To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before" Shirts During Commencement	Students Wearing "Better Dead Than Co-Ed" Sweaters

In 1986, the then School of Fine Arts begins accepting male students interested in pursuing majors in art, theatre, communication, and music. While male students were also accepted into the Continuing Education program, the male undergraduate arts majors represented the first male college students to be housed on campus.

       Sr. Gemma Del Duca, Sr. Mary Noel Kernan, and Sr. Lois Sculco establish the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE).  More than 110 Catholic colleges and universities express their delight at the founding of the Center, which is one of the first Catholic centers in the nation to examine an issue that, at the urging of Pope John Paul II, “concerns the whole of humanity today.”

       Seton Hill installs JoAnne Woodyard Boyle as the College’s ninth president.  A 1957 graduate of Seton Hill, member of the English faculty, and English department chair, JoAnne’s presidency would be marked by unprecedented growth and transformation.  She opens the first year of her presidency with renowned intellectuals visiting campus, including: American poet and leader of the 1950s Beat Generation, Allen Ginsberg; British poet and critic Sir Stephen Spender; and former aide and speech writer to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Ben Wattenberg.

       The longest serving president in Seton Hill history, the college achieved university status, became co-educational and developed partnerships with the City of Greensburg and LECOM during her tenure.

Beth Ann Johnson	Elyse Jeanne Saraceni

       The terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland claimed the lives of Beth Ann Johnson and Elyse Saraceni, two Seton Hill students who were returning from a semester studying abroad.  Beth Ann and Elyse are remembered in many ways, including through endowed scholarships started in their memory.

        Sr. Margaret Burns, professor of math, computer science and general physics, initiates the school’s first Women in Science Day in 1989, to encourage, and acknowledge, talented local female high school students with an interest in the sciences. Attendance has grown to more than 100 young women attending each year.

       Alumna, Dr. Margaret Heagarty '57, a pioneer in pediatric AIDS, gives Princess Diana a tour of Harlem Children's Hospital, bringing worldwide attention to the plight of HIV-infected babies.

       With a $5 million grant from the Small Business Administration, Seton Hill opens the National Center for Women in Business, integrating entrepreneurship throughout the Seton hill curriculum and providing support for women business owners.  The Center was led for several years by Barbara Mistick.

       American author, narrator, historian, and lecturer, David McCullough, visits the Seton Hill campus.  Born in Pittsburgh, PA, McCullough rose to success as a historian and writer by publishing his first book, The Johnstown Flood.  A two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, McCullough's nine books have been adapted for television film and miniseries documentaries.

       The Folklife Documentation Center for America's Industrial Heritage was established at Seton Hill.  Director Christine Mueseler gathered oral histories of women in the glass, aluminum and coal industries.  The histories are archived at the Smithsonian Institute.

       Seton Hill College creates three new graduate programs including a Master of Arts in: Elementary Education, Special Education, and Art Therapy.

       Ethel LeFrak receives an honorary degree from Seton Hill.  LeFrak later received the Elizabeth Ann Seton Woman of Courage Award.  She also endowed the Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference at Seton Hill.

Seton Hill’s Physician Assistant Program receives accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on the Education of Physician Assistants. Seton Hill physician assistant graduates have a first-time pass rate of almost 100 percent on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination.  The PA program was co-developed by Dr. Steven Bassett and Dr. Bernadette Fondy.

       Frank McCourt comes to Seton Hill in 1997.  He won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Biography and Autobiography in 1997 and received one of the annual National Book Critics Circle Awards in 1996 for his memoir, Angela's Ashes.  The memoir details McCourt's impoverished childhood from Brooklyn to Limerick. Three years later, a movie adaptation of the memoir was released.

       Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, visits Seton Hill. The day’s events included four public lectures and a reception for faculty, staff and students. Seton Hill students welcome the Nobel Peace Prize winner with Buddhist prayer flags draping the campus and seats are filled in large theatres across Pittsburgh.  “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,” said (Mister) Fred Rogers, who introduced the Dalai Lama at the first public lecture.

       Christine Toretti, Maureen O'Brien, and Christine Delegram Farrell '79 serve as co-chairs of the Achieving the Dream Campaign, which provides funds for student scholarships, the renovation of the Administration Building, and endowment.

       Seton Hill introduces a new Master of Arts in writing popular fiction, one of the first programs of its kind in the country. The new graduate program combines extensive online writing assignments and mentoring by faculty and published authors.  Students enroll from all corners of the nation and congregate twice a year during two intensive on-campus residencies.

       Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins '64 donates the first $1 million gift from an alumna in Seton Hill's history to support the Achieving the Dream: Endowement and Capital Campaign. 

       Seton Hill celebrates Greensburg's bicentennial by honoring distinguished Greensburg residents, including Anne Robertshaw, Captain George Byers Dom, Edward Hutchinson, and John Robertshaw, Jr., at commencement.

       Mitchell Albom visited Seton Hill after the release of his award-winning book, Tuesdays with Morrie.  His books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide having achieved recognition for sports writing in the earlier part of his career.  

      Another international luminary to arrive in March 2001 is Nobel Peace Prize winner, founder of the Solidarity Movement and first democratically elected president of Poland, Lech Walesa.  Walesa addresses an at-capacity crowd of 950 people that greeted him with a thunderous standing ovation for several minutes.

       The 112-year-old Administration Building re-opens in 2001 after three years of extensive renovations. During the project, the beloved Victorian parlors are restored to their original grandeur, and eleven new classrooms and seminar rooms were constructed.

       As part of the grand opening festivities, the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal was presented to The Honorable Corinne (Lindy) Claiborne Boggs, the first female United States' Ambassador to the Vatican.

     In 2002, Seton Hill College is granted University status by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and becomes Seton Hill University, a name and status that represents a heritage filled with boundless foresight by the Sisters of Charity who continued to make refinements to the University’s charter throughout the life of the College.

     While the University celebrated many success, student interest over the years waned precipitously in single-sex education, which linked financial pressures to enrollment.  In a major step forward, Seton Hill opens all of its degree programs to male students, adds male sports programs, and becomes officially a co-educational institution on July 1, 2002. 

       Seton Hill hosts New York City Fire Department Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto visits to tell his story of surviving the collapse of the World Trade Center. The FDNY battalion commander in lower Manhattan when it was the target of terrorist attacks on 9/11, Richard and his fellow firefighters selflessly rushed inside the World Trade Center towers to rescue those trapped inside. The highest-ranking firefighter to survive that day, he humbly reflects on his efforts and offers an insider’s knowledge of how courage and training helped save numerous lives. He also chronicles this experience in his best-selling book, “Last Man Down.”  

       CBS News Journalist, Lesley Stahl, shared some of her most interesting reporting memories during a visit to campus.

       Miami Herald humor columnist, Dave Barry, discussed topics from politics to his rock band while at Seton Hill.

       Seton Hill moves “off the Hill” for the first time, with the opening of the Seton Hill University Center for Family Therapy in downtown Greensburg. The Center, which is staffed by licensed clinical faculty and graduate students of Seton Hill’s Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program, provides individual, couple and family counseling services for the community on a sliding-scale basis.

       The first suite-style residence hall on campus, Farrell Hall, named for former President Eileen Farrell, opens.

       The University adds football to its roster of sports and gains national media attention from the New York Times and Fox News among other outlets. 

       DeChantal Hall, another suite-style residence hall, opens.  The building is named for Sr. M. DeChantal Leis, former Dean of Students and the first Alumnae Director, known as "Dish."

       On July 2, 2007, Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Authority, honors Sr. Gemma Del Duca, founder and co-director in Israel of Seton Hill’s National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, with the Excellence in Holocaust Education award. Sr. Gemma is the first non-Israeli to be honored in this way.

       In December, Ethel LeFrak of New York, N.Y., donates $750,000 to the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education to endow The Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference and create The Ethel LeFrak Student Scholars of the Holocaust Fund. The Conference attracts prominent speakers and scholars, such as Rabbi Dr. Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, co-founder with Elie Wiesel of the Zachor Holocaust Resource Center.  

       Michele Ridge, then SHU Board Chair said: "The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education at Seton Hill University provides a model for teaching the Holocaust, and for building relations with the Jewish and Christian communities, indeed, all religious groups.  We deeply value this munificent gift from Ethel LeFrak because it will ensure that the life-changing work of our center continues in perpetuity."

       A $300,000 grant from the Allegheny Foundation enables Seton Hill to undertake a top-to-bottom renovation of the heart of Seton Hill's campus, St. Joseph Chapel, which was constructed in 1895.  The walls were re-plastered and painted, eliminating cracks and repairing water damage.  Portions of the high ceiling, originally painted blue, then gold, are now a rosy pink.  The color echoes the shade of the marble pillars supporting the chapel roof and extending through Cecilian Hall on the second floor and the Greensburg Room on the ground floor.  Windows were re-leaded and a new sound system was installed.  

       The chapel, which can seat 450, includes a pipe organ donated in 1899 by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, who first visited the Seton Hill grounds as a telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Stained glass windows lining the chapels walls, designed in Germany, depict some of the principal devotions of the Catholic Church as well as the patron saints of the first three Mother Superiors of the Sisters of Charity.  The windows, original to the chapel, were donated by friends and family of the Sisters.

       Trustee Daniel J. Wukich makes a $1 million leadership commitment to enhance the University’s programs in business.  Soon after, the University creates the Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities (Wukich CEO), which provides special services and programs to prepare students with the entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed in an evolving global market.

       Seton Hill partners with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to open a medical school site on the Seton Hill campus and provide Seton Hill students with seats at the medical school.  Alexandria Boley, pictured, is the first student to graduate from the program.

       In September, the new Performing Arts Center celebrates its grand opening.  The Center is a long-held dream of the University beginning in 1919 with architectural plans for a new fine arts center. Designed to complement the historic architecture of the surrounding buildings, the Center also serves as a milestone to an historic partnership between the City of Greensburg and the University.

       The Seton Hill University Center for Orthodontics opens its doors to medically underserved and indigent clients and to dentists studying to become orthodontists. The Center aligns with Seton Hill’s mission of serving the underserved. It is the first stand-alone orthodontics program (not connected to a school of dentistry) in the country to be accredited.

Seton Hill receives All Steinway School status with the generous support of Gene “Doc” and Iva Saraceni (pictured left) in memory of their daughter, Elyse Jeanne Saraceni.

       Seton Hill is one of about 150 institutions to receive this distinction worldwide. Seton Hill’s concert grand piano, which graces the stage of the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall, is signed by world-renowned concert pianist Lang Lang.

     Under the guidance of Dr. Mary Ann Gawelek, Provost from 1996-2016, Seton Hill becomes the first university in the world to provide students with the newly released iPad.  Seton Hill’s pioneering stance on the use of this new mobile technology for teaching and learning prompts national recognition, including a featured spot in Apple's educational video and on Good Morning America, National Public Radio and in the New York Times.

       Long-term President JoAnne Boyle announces her retirement effective on June 30 and receives the designation, President Emerita.  The Seton Hill Board of Trustees unanimously votes to name its new health sciences center as the JoAnne Woodyard Boyle Health Science Center.

       The Seton Hill community suffered the tragic loss of women's lacrosse coach, Kristina Quigley, her unborn son, Jackson, and bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, when the team crashed on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Seton Hill continues to honor Kristina through special events with students and community members.

        Seton Hill friend Dr. E. Ronald Salvitti and Golf Legend and former trustee, Arnold Palmer, receive Honorary Degrees.  They are pictured with Provincial Superior Sister Catherine Meinert.

       Bibiana Boerio serves as interim president following the retirement of President Emerita JoAnne Boyle.

       After a six-month national search, Seton Hill announces the appointment of its Tenth President, Mary C. Finger, Ed.D.  “Seton Hill University has successfully met many challenges that the great majority of private colleges and universities in the United States are facing with creativity and a deep commitment to the mission,” said Mary Finger. “I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve as President of Seton Hill.”

       In the fall of 2015, the JoAnne Woodyard Boyle Health Sciences Center celebrates its grand opening. The 56,000 square foot facility features state-of-the-art technology and equipment, laboratories, and classrooms for Seton Hill’s natural and health sciences programs including physician assistant, nutrition and dietetics, exercise science, forensic science, chemistry, and biology. Nearly 40% of Seton Hill’s freshman class majors in a program of study in the sciences.

       The University also opens the Seton Hill Arts Center that houses dance and visual arts programs.  The new building is a capstone to a decade-long partnership with the City of Greensburg to build and expand its cultural district in the downtown area. The Seton Hill Arts Center serves every student through a robust liberal arts curriculum that pushes students to think in novel and original ways and challenges them to apply new solutions to real-world problems.

       Noted Holocaust Scholar, Father Patrick Desbois, lectures on the "Holocaust By Bullets" as part of the LeFrak Conference at Seton Hill.

       Under the leadership of new Provost Sister Susan Yochum, Seton Hill opens the Office of Academic Innovation and Planning to create new academic programs and partnerships that help students gain the skills needed to fill the region's workforce needs.

       Michele Moore Ridge ’69, who served as Chair of the Seton Hill Board of Trustees for 13 years, receives the Medal of Distinction, the University’s highest honor.

       For the first time since its construction nearly a century ago, Seton Hill renovates Lowe Dining Hall to accommodate expanding student enrollment and increased resident students.  The University maintains the historic integrity and iconic look by restoring its terrazzo floors, adding storm protection, preserving the century old stained-glass windows, and conserving the stenciled painting on the ceiling. The renovation also includes an addition to house an expanded servery and increase seating options for students.

        The year 2018 marks the 100th graduating class from Seton Hill University.  Integral to Seton Hill's mission has been the decades of former students and alumni who have found their life's calling, led their communities, and transformed the lives of those they have served.  The Centennial year will commemorate the achievements of Sisters, professors, administrators, alumni and students who came to cherish their experience "on the Hill."

In over a century, Seton Hill has experienced dramatic growth and transformation from a Catholic, liberal arts women’s college to a co-educational, comprehensive University. The following represents the transformation that Seton Hill has experienced throughout the decades:

     > The University’s assets have grown from $600,000 to more than $100 million. 

     > Seton Hill’s endowment has multiplied from $100,000 to more than $35 million today. 

     > A modest campus of five buildings has sprawled out to include more than twenty-five facilities on-campus and in the City of Greensburg. 

     > Seton Hill’s student body has expanded from 39 undergraduate women to more than 2,200 men and women of all ages, enrolling in undergraduate and graduate programs. 

     > Faculty have increased from 24 members serving a common liberal arts curriculum to more than 100 full-time professors that offer 30 undergraduate majors and 8 graduate degree programs. 

     > Two graduates in 1919 have now swelled to more than 17,000 graduates located in all 50 U.S. states and nearly 40 different countries all over the world.