Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private Roman Catholic university in Clayton, Missouri. It enrolled 955 students in 2021. Fontbonne is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs. Its athletic teams compete in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. History Early history Fontbonne University, founded in 1923 as Fontbonne College as a women's college, takes its name from Mother St. John Fontbonne, who, in 1808 after the French Revolution, refounded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ). More than a century and a half before, in 1650, the Sisters of St. Joseph had been founded in LePuy, France. During the French Revolution, the sisters were forced to return to their homes and the community was dispersed. Some 28 years after the re-founding, six Sisters of St. Joseph came to the United States in 1836 and established American roots at Carondelet, a small community in south St. Louis, Missouri within the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Five years later, in 1841, they opened St. Joseph's Academy for girls. First classes began at Carondelet College following World War I, with the first eight baccalaureate degrees given in 1927. By then, a new campus at the current location was built to accommodate the increase in students. Over the next 20 years a liberal arts curriculum was developed. A cafeteria, swimming pool, and gymnasium were added to the original buildings (Ryan Hall, Science Building, Fine Arts Building). Medaille Hall, the university's first residence hall, was dedicated. The school, initially affiliated with the University of Missouri and Catholic University of America, received North Central accreditation and degree-granting powers.