April 27, 2016
Source/www.cabrini.edu
The Mansion on the campus of Cabrini University in Radnor Township, Montgomery County.
Cabrini College announced Wednesday that it had been granted university status.
The Catholic, liberal arts institution in Radnor Township will be known as Cabrini University as of July 1, according to its president, Donald B. Taylor, Ph.D.
The elevation of status was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education after the college submitted an application earlier this year.
"The name change reflects the growth and success that this institution has seen since it was established nearly 60 years ago," Taylor said in a statement. "While the change to Cabrini University represents our broader academic offerings and expanded reach, we continue our strong tradition of student support and human rights advocacy."
A new logo and brand identity to reflect the change will launch mid-summer, the school said in a news release. Students returning to 112-acre campus in August for the upcoming school year will celebrate the change with a town hall meeting with Taylor.
The requirements for a school to attain university status in Pennsylvania include offering at least five advanced degrees or professional programs at the graduate level as well as arts and sciences programs at the undergraduate level.
Cabrini said it has awarded graduate degrees for about 30 years and develops new programs to meet market demand.
Beginning this May, Cabrini will welcome its first doctoral candidates in two new doctoral programs in organizational development (Ph.D./D.B.A.) and educational leadership (Ed.D.)
About 1,300 undergraduates are enrolled at the school, with another 900 students in graduate and professional studies programs at its main campus and at five off-campus locations.
Cabrini was founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of the first colleges in the nation to require community service for undergraduate graduation, it offers a core curriculum centered on social justice.
The campus property has an interesting history. Originally known as Woodcrest, it was the estate of Dr. John T. Dorrance, the chemist who discovered a method to make condensed soup and went on to become president of the Campbell Soup Company. The estate featured a mansion house and a stable full of horses.
The Missionary Sisters bought the property in 1953. Named "Villa Cabrini" after the organization's namesake, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, it was originally an orphanage.
