About Us

History

Inspired by its Catholic and Lasallian heritage, Lewis University offers a values-centered curriculum, rich in the Mission values of knowledge, fidelity, wisdom, and justice and guided by the spirit of association which fosters community in all teaching, learning and service. Lewis provides approximately 5,200 students with programs for a liberal and professional education based on the interaction of knowledge and fidelity in the search for truth.

Lewis is a dynamic, coeducational, comprehensive, Catholic university with a richly diverse student body, including traditional-aged students as well as adults of all ages who attend classes at the main campus in Romeoville and at sites throughout the Chicagoland area.

Founded in 1932 under the direction of the Chicago Archdiocese and Bishop Bernard J. Sheil, Lewis began as the Holy Name Technical School, a school for boys which opened with 15 students. The school was established on a campus of 170 acres of farmland that was donated to the archdiocese by Michael and Frances Fitzpatrick of Lockport. From the beginning, Frank J. Lewis, the noted Chicago philanthropist and industrialist, took an active interest in the school. He assisted with the funding of various buildings that became the nucleus of the University.

During these early days, aviation technology courses were chosen as the special emphasis of instruction, becoming the origin of today’s highly regarded Department of Aviation. The school was incorporated in 1934 under the name Lewis Holy Name Technical School. In 1935, it became the Lewis Holy Name School of Aeronautics, a name which is engraved in stone on the building now known as the Oremus Fine Arts Center.

By 1940, with World War II threatening, the newly titled Lewis School of Aeronautics began emphasizing programs of direct utility to the armed forces, such as flight training. The high school department was closed in 1942, and the campus given over to the U.S. Navy for its flight instructors program. By the end of the war, hundreds of pilots had received training at Lewis. The suspension of normal academic activities had given the Lewis administration and faculty an opportunity to rethink the school’s objectives. As a consequence, when regular classes resumed in the autumn of 1944, the reorganized school included a junior college. As returning servicemen increasingly sought further education, this new venture quickly evolved into a traditional arts and sciences curriculum. By 1949, women were admitted as students and high school classes were discontinued. More appropriately named, the Lewis College of Science and Technology granted its first baccalaureate degrees in 1952. For the rest of the decade enrollment grew steadily.

A new phase in the history of Lewis began in 1960 when the Brothers of the Christian Schools assumed direction of the institution at the invitation of the Most Reverend Martin McNamara, Bishop of Joliet. As members of a 325-year-old religious congregation devoted exclusively to teaching, the De La Salle Christian Brothers brought to Lewis a new tradition of Lasallian values, based on the teachings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, their founder and Patron Saint of Educators. The first group of Lasallian Brothers on campus successfully combined their efforts with those of the dedicated lay faculty to inaugurate a program of major improvements. The institution became Lewis College in 1962 and achieved accreditation by the North Central Association in 1963.

The growth of higher education in the 1960s was reflected in the school’s rapidly increasing enrollment, which reached 2,000 students by 1970. To accommodate the larger student body, a major construction program added new classrooms and laboratories, two residence halls, the Learning Resource Center, a gymnasium, and a modern aviation technical center to the campus.

A dialogue concerning a possible merger with the College of St. Francis was initiated in 1968, resulting in a high degree of cooperation between the two colleges. Although the merger did not occur, this cooperation was reflected during the 1970-71 academic year by the use of the name Lewis-St. Francis of Illinois.

Two major organizational changes became effective in the fall of 1971. With the existing evening program as its core, the College of Continuing Education was established and a College of Nursing was proposed. The following fall, the Department of Business Administration was expanded and reorganized as the College of Business. These colleges, together with the College of Arts and Sciences, thus came to represent an organizational structure that no longer seemed appropriately designated by the term “college.” For that reason, among others, the decision was made in 1973 to become a university. The name was changed officially to Lewis University. As John Henry Cardinal Newman wrote, “To be perfect is to have changed often.”

In July, 1975, a significant step in the development of Lewis University occurred with the accreditation by the North Central Association of graduate programs (master’s and first professional degree levels). During the 1980s, Lewis University expanded its programs to off-campus sites, establishing sites at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, a graduate center in Oak Brook and sites in Schaumburg and LaSalle/Peru. Coursework also became available at sites such as St. Patrick’s High School in Chicago.

In the 1990s, the satellite campus at Little Company of Mary Hospital was moved to a new Lewis education center at Hickory Hills, and off-campus sites multiplied to meet student demand and enhance student access.

The Lewis University Career Education Program (LUCEP) was first established in the fall of 1990 to offer an accelerated undergraduate degree program in business administration for working adults. The degree offerings have expanded rapidly and are now delivered through the School for Professional and Continuing Education. Programs include bachelor’s degree completion in business administration, information technology management, healthcare leadership, management, and applied sociology and political science, as well as an RN/BSN completion program. A graduate program in Organizational Leadership is also offered.

In addition to a strong curriculum, Lewis provides diverse learning opportunities for its students through its renowned athletics program. The Flyer teams have a history of excellence, first in the NAIA and for the past 26 years, in NCAA Division II. Lewis’ athletic teams have captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference All Sports trophy in 12 of the past 25 years. Lewis sponsors 18 athletic teams: nine for men and nine for women, including men’s and women’s cross country, tennis, golf, volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field, and swimming; women’s softball; and men’s baseball.

A comprehensive campus renovation program was launched in 1988 by Brother James Gaffney, FSC, University President, and the Board of Trustees, resulting in new construction, major renovations in current facilities, updating of equipment, and campus beautification. Among the major achievements in the 1990s were the construction of the state-of-the-art Harold E. White Aviation Center; renovation of Benilde Hall to house the College of Business and the School for Professional and Continuing Education; construction of the Student Recreation and Fitness Center with its swimming pool, indoor track, fitness center and fieldhouse featuring four full-sized courts; and the construction of North Hall, the first new residence hall on the Lewis campus in nearly three decades.

The formation of the Scholars Academy in the 1990s allows eligible students in every major to enhance their educational opportunities through intensive projects arranged through contracts with faculty members, as well as through conferences, immersion seminars and travel.

In 1999, the College of Nursing began offering online a master’s degree in nursing case management, the first online MSN case management option in the Chicagoland area.

In 2000, the School of Education achieved NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) accreditation. Also in 2000, the College of Nursing changed its name to the College of Nursing and Health Professions to reflect the College’s planning and program development efforts to increase interdisciplinary programs and respond to the rapidly growing needs of the healthcare professions.

In 2001, the University approved new under-graduate offerings in healthcare leadership, information technology management, and contemporary global studies, as well as a master’s degree in public safety administration. De La Salle Hall was purchased in 2001 from the De La Salle Christian Brothers to provide for additional academic space, and faculty and staff offices. That same year, Lewis also acquired the Fitzpatrick House, located directly across from the main campus on Route 53. The building was part of the homestead that included the original 170 acres of campus, donated to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1920 by Michael and Frances Fitzpatrick. It currently houses University Advancement and
Alumni Offices.

In 2003, the School of Education became the College of Education. Fall of 2003 saw a record-breaking enrollment at Lewis, with increases in freshmen, transfer and graduate students. The Athletic Training Program received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs. New programs offered for the first time in 2003 included the master of arts degree in elementary education and bachelor’s programs in forensic criminal investigation, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, and business management for adult students. The College of Nursing and Health Professions also launched its program offering in parish nursing early that year. The 2003 Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory rated Lewis above the national average in academic advising, instructional effectiveness, campus support services and concern for the individual.

In 2004 and 2005, Lewis continued to shatter enrollment records, reaching more than 5,000 total students. Lewis’ strengths as an institution of higher learning have been evidenced through various sources. The University has been cited as one of the best colleges in the region for the last two consecutive years by both The Princeton Review and U.S. News and World Report. The University is included in the top tier of U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of the best Midwest master’s-level universities, most recently placing 58 out of a total of 144 institutions. The Princeton Review named Lewis one of the “Best Midwestern Colleges,” with Lewis being ranked among a select list of 23 Illinois colleges and 158 Midwest institutions.

To meet the needs of a growing student population, the University embarked on several construction projects, beginning in the summer of 2004. Major improvements were completed in De La Salle Hall in 2004, including a new Courtyard Café, bookstore and mailroom, additional classrooms and faculty offices.
In 2005, construction began in the same building on new facilities for the College of Education and the Andrew Center for Electronic Media, which opened for the spring 2006 semester.

Pope John Paul II Hall opened in the fall of 2005, expanding the University’s residential student facilities and extending its campus further to the south. 39,000 square feet of space houses 95 students in three floors of apartment style living space. Mother Teresa Hall, located immediately west, opened in the summer of 2006.

In 2005, the University also dedicated a Founder’s Garden, complete with a statue bearing the likeness of Saint John Baptist de La Salle. Additionally, a new campus was opened in Shorewood in time for the spring 2006 semester.

Lewis now offers approximately 65 undergraduate majors and programs of study in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as in aviation, business, computer science, communications, education, fine arts, and nursing. Pre-professional programs are also offered in fields such as pre-med, pre-law, and pre-engineering, among others. Graduate programs are available in aviation, business administration (MBA), counseling psychology, criminal/social justice, education, information security, management, nursing, organizational leadership, public safety administration, and school counseling and guidance. Graduate programs in education are available in reading and literacy, secondary education, elementary education, special education, curriculum and teacher leadership, curriculum and instruction - instructional technology, reading teacher endorsement, and educational leadership, in addition to certificates of advanced study in general administrative and superintendent endorsement. A dual degree (MSN/MBA) is available at the graduate level.

In 2005, the University began offering its first doctoral program. The College of Education received approval from the Higher Learning Commission to offer courses toward the completion of a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership for Teaching and Learning. This doctorate is designed for certified teachers and administrators who seek to become leaders in the public and private
K-12 sectors.

Among its other new academic programs, Lewis now offers bachelor’s degrees in multimedia journalism and diagnostic medical sonography. A master’s degree in aviation and transportation, and bachelor’s degrees in aviation security, fire service administration, and the philosophy of law will be offered beginning in the fall of 2006.

The strategic plan for the University calls for continued growth and expansion, with the student as the center of an interactive learning environment. Multiple opportunities exist for learners of all ages to explore connections between formal classroom instruction and learning beyond the classroom. The student-faculty ratio of 14:1 provides close, personal attention and classroom interaction.

As Lewis’ history continues to unfold, the University’s values-centered curriculum provides students with the necessary foundation for ethical decision making.
Academic programs and learning experiences prepare students for careers, enhance their professional capabilities and promote personal growth and competence. The development of the complete person is promoted through the pursuit of wisdom and justice. Lewis makes available the choice of an affordable institution of higher education by continuously seeking sources of grants and scholarships to supplement tuition costs.

As Lewis celebrates its 75th anniversary, the University continues to build on its rich tradition of career preparation combined with liberal learning. Traditional programs are being enhanced and new majors developed in response to community needs, career trends, and an increasingly global and technological society.

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