History


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The Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, who are now known as the Dominican Sisters of Peace, purchased an estate in 1924 at 700 Prospect Street, New Haven, to found a women’s college. It was named Albertus Magnus College for St. Albert the Great, the thirteenth century medieval scholar, philosopher, theologian and bishop. They named the mansion on the property Rosary Hall. The College’s charter was signed on July 13, 1925, and the first classes were held in Rosary Hall on September 24, 1925.

Since 1926, the College has acquired several mansions that are now used for student housing and administration. The construction and purchase of other buildings has freed Rosary Hall from many of its former uses, and it serves today as the College’s library and learning commons. Dominican Hall, a residence hall, was completed in 1960. In 1965, Aquinas Hall was opened as the main academic building, and in 1970 the Campus Center became the hub of social activity.

The Cosgrove, Marcus, Messer Athletic Center opened in 1989. The indoor sports and recreation center houses a pool, a gymnasium and indoor track, racquetball and volleyball courts, weight and dance rooms, and other facilities. The Center is part of a six million dollar athletic complex which also features soccer and softball fields, an outdoor track, and tennis courts. In 2005, the College opened its new Mary A. and Louis F. Tagliatela Academic Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses science facilities, a communications studio, classrooms, and an atrium that is frequently used for public lectures and forums. The new Shea Softball Complex opened in 2017. In 2019, the Hubert Campus Center underwent a major redesign, including the addition of workout facilities, multi-purpose presentation space, and a rooftop garden with a bridge connecting to Dominican Hall. In 2019, the College also purchased 490 Prospect Street, a three building property that supported the expansion of student housing.

Established to expand educational opportunities for women, Albertus Magnus has stayed true to that initial impetus to expand educational opportunity as it has evolved. In 1971, the College was a pioneer in launching its first program for adult learners. In 1975, the Board of Trustees voted to omit the words “of women” from the charter to allow the awarding of degrees to men through the Office of Continuing Education, and in April 1985, the Board had the foresight to make the College fully co-educational. As Albertus grew and evolved, it extended its reach through the establishment of the Accelerated Degree Program, thus making Albertus an even more valuable resource for working adults in the greater New Haven area. Since then, the College has continued to develop new programs and to offer these programs in innovative ways. In 1992, the College offered its first graduate program, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. The New Dimensions program began in 1994 as an alternative degree completion program, whereby working professionals could obtain their Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s Degrees in business fields.The College launched its first, fully-online degree program in 2009. In the years that followed, Albertus introduced new graduate programs and extended its reach through the development of on-ground, blended, and online program options. In Spring 2015, to respond to the needs of students, the College adapted and began offering nearly every adult degree program in a "Flex" format, which provides opportunities for students to choose between blended and online course options on a course-by-course basis. Today, Albertus offers its academic programs through two divisions: the Traditional Undergraduate Program, which offers programs in a semester format at its main New Haven campus with primarily face-to-face instruction, and the Division of Professional and Graduate Studies, which houses the undergraduate Accelerated Degree Program and Graduate Studies at its main New Haven campus.

Today, Albertus Magnus College is proud of its commitment to making accessible a practical, liberal arts-based education rooted in Dominican values expressed through the four Dominican pillars of study, prayer, community, and service and celebrates its student body of 1,225 FTE  students whose diversity is multifaceted. The College remains ever true to its Dominican heritage and its dedication to the search for truth in all its dimensions.