History of St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph's College Timeline

1916 – The College opens its doors to 12 students in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn.

1918 – St. Joseph's purchases the Pratt home at 245 Clinton Avenue.

1920 – The first class graduates from St. Joseph's College at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

1923 – An annex is built along Waverly Avenue at the rear end of the Clinton Avenue building.

1925 – Student enrollment increases to over 200. The home of Hermann Metz at 253 Clinton Avenue is purchased.

1928 – Metz House is razed to make room for a new building to be attached to the 245 Building.

1929 – St. Joseph's College obtains its permanent charter from the University of the State of New York.

1934 – One of the first college preschools on the East Coast is opened on the Brooklyn campus.

1935 – St. Joseph's acquires the Allison house at 265 Clinton Avenue.

1936 – The Pratt, house at 232 Clinton Avenue, is purchased and becomes a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph's while the surrounding gardens become part of the Brooklyn campus.

1938 – The preschool is extended to include two kindergarten years.

1939 – The Clement Family building adjoining the campus is purchased and turned into an outdoor theater.

1940 – A Child Study major is introduced.

1941 – As the College celebrates its 25th anniversary, enrollment reaches 469 and the number of alumnae climbs to nearly 1,200.

1945 – Rev. William T. Dillon is named president of St. Joseph's College.

1956 – President Dillon steps down; S. Vincent Therese Tuohy is appointed to take his place.

1965 – McEntegart Hall Library opens at 222 Clinton Avenue.

1968 – The preschool is named the Dillon Child Study Center.

1969 – S. George Aquin O'Connor, CSJ, is named president of St. Joseph's College. St. Joseph's admits its first male students, making the transformation to a coeducational college.

1971 – An extension division of the College opens in Brentwood.

1972 – St. Joseph's receives qualification for New York State Institutional Aid (Bundy Aid).

1975 – The College establishes the School of Adult and Professional Education.

1978 – A twenty-five acre, lake-side property in Patchogue is purchased to house the Long Island Campus and a four-year program is inaugurated.

1985 – The Clare Rose Playhouse is established on the Long Island Campus.

1986 – An upper division nursing program is registered by the New York State Department of Education.

1989 – The Callahan Library opens in Suffolk.

1994 – The Weekend College is established at the Long Island Campus.

1995 – St. Joseph's introduces its first graduate degree, the Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Therapeutic Education.

1997 – S. Elizabeth A. Hill, CSJ, becomes President of St. Joseph's College, established the Council for the Arts to provide fine and performing arts programming to St. Joseph's and its surrounding communities.

1997 – The John A. Danzi Athletic Center opens in Suffolk.

1998 – St. Joseph's purchases a five-story brownstone at 256 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn to be used as staff and faculty office space.

1998 – A high-speed fiber optic network is developed to connect all offices, instructional facilities, computer labs, and libraries on both campuses.

1999 – An Online Library System is installed, enabling students to search for and check out books at either campus, as well as providing access to online databases and other electronic information sources.

2000 – The Academic Center for Enhancement Services (ACES) at the Marygrace Calhoun Dunn Center opens to provide assistance to English Language Learner (ELL) students.

2001 – The Brooklyn campus expands to bordering Washington Avenue with the purchase of St. Angela Hall Academy. St. Angela Hall becomes a classroom and meeting facility.

2002 – The 33,000-square-foot Business Technology Center opens on the Long Island Campus.

2003 – A master plan is adopted for expansion of the Brooklyn campus to be implemented over a period of ten to fifteen years.

2004 – Executive Master's of Business Administration is introduced.

2005 – St. Joseph's College introduces two new graduate programs: Master of Arts Degree in Literacy/Cognition and a Master of Science degree with a major in Nursing.

2006 – The School of Adult and Professional Education is renamed the School of Professional and Graduate Studies.