Milestones: A Century of Loyola History

  • An Era of Firsts

    1910: Construction of Marquette Hall & Burke Memorial Seismographic Lab
    1912: Thomas Hall completed
    1912: Loyola University is chartered
    1913: Pharmacy professional school added
    1913: Lucrecia Landa & Lillian Mahoney, first women to graduate from Loyola
    1914: Dentistry and Law professional schools added
    1915: School of Dentistry graduates its first class
    1917: School of Law graduates its first class
    1917: US enters WWI
    1918: Holy Name of Jesus is dedicated

  • Strengthening the Foundation

    1920: 1st women graduate from School of Law
    1921: First student dormitory opened
    1922: Fundraising drive launched with first WWL radio broadcast from Marquette Hall
    1923: BEGGARS, Loyola's first fraternity founded
    1923: The Maroon begins publication
    1924: Lambda Tau Lambda, first sorority is founded
    1924: The Wolf is launched
    1925: School of Law establishes a full-time day program
    1926: Undefeated Wolves outscore all other football teams in the nation
    1929: Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

  • Adversity and Growth

    1931: Governor Huey Long awarded honorary Doctorate of Laws
    1931: Blue Key chapter established
    1932: School of Law accredited
    1932: WWL radio broadcasts from the Roosevelt Hotel
    1932: College of Music established
    1932: Loyola athletes Emmett Topino & Eddie Flynn win Olympic gold medals
    1932: Music students Elma Chopin, Dolores Kennedy and Mary Badger are the first women elected to Student Council
    1935: Department of Medical Technology is launched
    1935: WWL affiliates with CBS
    1939: Football at Loyola ends

  • Tested by War

    1941: Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor
    1941: The Loyola Law Review founded
    1945: WWII ends
    1945: Wolfpack defeats Pepperdine University to win national basketball championship
    1947: Stallings Hall completed
    1947: College of Business Administration is established
    1947: 1st ROTC unit was established

  • A Time of Transition

    1950: Korean War begins
    1950: Loyola Main Library is dedicated to the memory of 51 students and alumni who died in WWII
    1952: Norman Francis and Benjamin Johnson are the first African-Americans admitted to School of Law
    1953: Korean War ends
    1953: Joan Barrios is appointed first dean of women
    1954: Loyola integrates its field house and holds interracial sporting events
    1957: WWL-TV begins broadcasting

  • A Time of Turmoil

    1962: Loyola integrates its undergraduate day programs
    1963: Biever Hall opens
    1964: Danna Center is dedicated
    1964: Loyola's College Bowl team is victorious through three rounds
    1965: School of Pharmacy closes
    1965: Buddig Hall opens
    1969: Loyola Institute of Politics is established
    1969: The Krewe of Tucks, organized by Loyola students, parades
    1969: Students protest the Vietnam War and join community action programs

  • Stability and Change

    1970: Edgar "Dooky" Chase III is elected the first African-American president of the Student Council
    1971: School of Dentistry closes
    1971: Law Clinic is established
    1972: Loyola ends intercollegiate sports
    1975: John Oulliber appointed the first Lay chair of Board of Trustees
    1975: New Common Curriculum is launched
    1976: Loyola University Community Action Program (LUCAP) is organized
    1976: Renowned author Walker Percy teaches at Loyola
    1979: Maria Falco, first female dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

  • The Carter Years

    1984: Dominican College is purchased
    1985: School of Law moves to Broadway campus
    1985: Gillis W. Long Poverty Law Center is founded
    1986: Communications/ Music Complex opens
    1986: Loyola Field House torn down
    1989: WWL radio and TV sold

  • Improving Facilities and Technology

    1990: Louis Westerfield becomes first African-American Law dean
    1992: Mercy Academy is purchased
    1995: The Jesuit Center is established
    1995: Center for Environmental Communications is established
    1998: Mary Anne Franks is Loyola's first Rhodes Scholar
    1999: J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library opens

  • In The Face Of Crisis, New Beginnings

    2003: Athletic scholarships were once again awarded
    2005: Hurricane Katrina strikes
    2007: The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance comes to Loyola
    2007: Loyola Women's Basketball Teams win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship
    2007: College of Law opens Wendell H. & Anne B. Gauthier Family Wing
    2008: Loyola completes extensive renovation of Danna Student Center
    2009: Again, Women's Basketball Teams win the GCAC

  • The Fulfillment of the Dream

    2011: The Carnegie Foundation recognizes Loyola for community engagement
    2012: Centennial Year celebrations begin
    2010: New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson pledged $8 million to create a new home for the university's Jesuit Center

Milestones

Loyola University New Orleans' first 100 years were paved with great ambition and outstanding achievements. These milestones highlight some of the most memorable moments for the university's incredible first century.

Visit the Our History page to learn about the arrival of the Jesuits and the founding of Loyola college. To explore digitized resources of the Maroon, Wolf Yearbook, and Loyola Bulletins visit the Monroe Library's Loyola history page.