History
Pre-history
The site of the original Cabrini College was originally the estate of John Thompson Dorrance, inventor of the process of making condensed soup and president of the Campbell Soup Company. It was known as Woodcrest. Dorrance owned a stable with many horses, had social events within the main hall of his mansion, and also had personal servants. The property was purchased by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC) in 1953. It was first named "Villa Cabrini" after the organization's namesake, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. At first, Villa Cabrini was an orphanage. [6]
Founding and growth
In 1957, Sister Ursula Infante established a school in the villa. [7] Upon opening, it was a female-only school of only thirty-seven students. The orphanage was still a part of the community and they shared the use of the buildings.
The first graduating class was in 1961. Also around this same time period, Cabrini was awarded full accreditation by the Middle States Association.
In the 1950s, Cabrini was only made up of a few buildings. The mansion of the college was the central point of the college, housing the students, providing a cafeteria, classrooms, library, and a chapel. In 1958, they converted the stable house, now known as Grace Hall, to include both classrooms and dormitories. [7]
In 1960, Cabrini finished construction on the Sacred Heart Hall (now known as Founder's Hall), which was a library, cafeteria, gymnasium, and even held science laboratories. The 1960s also saw the construction of a chapel in 1961 and a library in 1965. [7]
Late 20th century
The early 1970s were a time of much change for the college. After Infante's ten-year presidency in 1967, three presidents were to follow in only three years. Barbara Leonardo was president from 1967 to 1968. During her time at the college, she was also a dean and taught history. In 1968, Gervase Lapadula became president, but soon had to resign due to health problems.
From 1969 to 1973, Regina Casey was president of Cabrini College. During her presidency, the college was starting to change from a girls-only to a co-educational establishment. Through a program with Eastern University, located next to the college, males started to attend classes at Cabrini. In turn, Cabrini students were offered more courses through both expansion and external courses at Eastern.
Mary Louise Sullivan was president of the institution from 1972 until 1982. During her tenure, the college became completely coeducational.
Sullivan was succeeded by Eileen Currie. During her presidency, political science, social work, and computer science programs were added and Xavier Hall, a 124-student residence hall, was built. The faculty voted to make community service a requirement for all students; and Cabrini was recognized as one of the first colleges in the country, and the first in Pennsylvania, to integrate community service into its core curriculum.
Toni Iadarola was the first lay president of Cabrini College. During her tenure from 1992 until 2008, undergraduate enrollment increased from 732 to 1,700 and the number of resident students tripled. New and renovated buildings in this time included the Dixon Center, Founder's Hall, and the Center for Science, Education, and Technology (now the Antoinette Iadarola Center for Science, Education, and Technology).
Cabrini College garnered national attention when, in the midst of a national economic recession, it announced a tuition reduction of nearly 13%. [8]
Don Taylor became Cabrini College's first male president on July 1, 2014. During his inaugural address on October 25, 2014, Taylor introduced the Cabrini 2020 Roadmap to Growth. This plan is a means to measure the college's progress, as it makes promises that were to have occurred by 2020. The initiative promises to have 100 percent of undergraduate students participating in a Living & Learning Community, pledges all undergraduate students will experience two or more High-Impact Coeducational Practices in their first year, and denotes a commitment to ensuring all students encounter at least four High-Impact practices before they are graduated by the college. [9]
Under Taylor's leadership, Cabrini College changed its name to Cabrini University on July 1, 2016. [10]
The university experienced significant financial troubles beginning in the middle of the 2010s. In 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the university faced a debt of approximately $5 million with a total budget of $45 million. Enrollment had dropped to about 1,500 students from 2,360 in the 2016-2017 academic year. In response to these challenges, the university had repeatedly eliminated staff and restructured; for example, it eliminated the position of provost, reduced the number of colleges from three to two, and laid off several tenured and tenure track faculty. [1]
In a joint statement with Villanova University published on June 23, 2023, Cabrini announced it would cease operations at the conclusion of the 2023–24 academic year. [11] Its land will be incorporated into Villanova University.
