Saint Martin's University

Saint Martin's University is a private Benedictine university in Lacey, Washington. It was founded in 1895 as an all-boys boarding school by monks of the Benedictine Order. Saint Martin's began offering college-level courses in 1900 and became a degree-granting institution in 1940. The college became coeducational in 1965. In 2005, it changed its name from Saint Martin's College to Saint Martin's University. It has a functioning Benedictine monastery on school grounds and some members of the monastic community also serve as professors. History Saint Martin's patron saint is Saint Martin of Tours, a fourth-century monk and missionary, and later Bishop of Tours. The university and its founder, Saint Martin's Abbey, sit on of woodlands, trees, rocks, and meandering trails. The site was selected in 1894 by Abbot Bernard Locnikar, O.S.B., of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, which was the mother abbey of St. Martin's Abbey. At a public auction on April 21, 1894, the wooded parcel that would become the Saint Martin's campus was purchased for $6,920. Work began on Saint Martin's first building in January 1895, and by late summer, a four-story structure housing both the school and a monastery was completed. The school at that time offered preparatory classes for boys, plus commercial and classical education for older boys and young men. Boarding students who came from outside of town also were housed in the campus' one large building. Today, that structure is referred to as Old Main and continues to house many of the university's classrooms and offices. Presidents 1955-1959 Damian Glenn 1959-1964 Dunstan Curtis 1964-1971 Michael Feeney 1971-1975 Matthew Naumes 1975-1980 John Scott 1980-1984 John Ishii 1984-2005 David Spangler 2005-2008 Douglas Astolfi 2008 Bryan M. Johnston (deceased; never formally inaugurated) 2008-2008 David Spangler (Interim) 2009-2022 Roy F. Heynderickx 2022-present Jennifer Bonds-Raacke