Rockhurst 101

The first class of high school boys at Rockhurst

One of the greatest things about being a student at Rockhurst while the university celebrates its centennial year is learning about all of the history that went into making Rockhurst what it is today.  When Rockhurst first started up in 1910, it was originally meant to be an all-boys high school.  Over time, however, Rockhurst High moved to a different campus further south and the old high school buildings were officially transferred over to the Jesuit college.

At the very beginning when the Rev. Michael Dowling S.J. founded Rockhurst, the Kansas City area did not have a very large Catholic population and Fr. Dowling experienced a lot of difficulty getting the school off the ground - especially when it came to finding funding.  Even once the first building (Sedgwick Hall) was complete and the school was ready to open to its 42 new students, it torrential rained so badly in Kansas City that Rockhurst has to cancel morning classes on its very first day.  That's certainly not the case today!  Rain or blizzard, don't you worry, Rockhurst will always have classes.

53rd and Troost, where Rockhurst sits today.

Fr. Dowling named his new Jesuit school "Rockhurst" because of the rocky terrain on which it was built.  In those days, Rockhurst was located on the edge of Kansas City in the thriving Rockhill district, just off the prestigious Paseo Blvd.

Colleges classes officially started in 1917 and the first college academic building - Conway Hall - was completed 20 years later in 1937.  As Rockhurst College built a name for itself, it also built up a darn good football team.  It was around that time that the Rockhurst College newspaper, the Sentinel, held a contest to give their team a "tradename."  Out of over 300 entries, "Hawks" was selected because it was "distinctive and indicative of dash and courage."  The Hawks football team came to a sudden halt in 1949 as a result of WWII, when the head coach joined the Marines.  Rockhurst football was never reinstated after that.

Another 20 years down the line, women were allowed to be full-time students at Rockhurst in 1969.  At that time, the percentage of women compared to men was very small - in fact there were only 3 female faculty members - but these days women outnumber men at Rockhurst nearly 2 to 1!

Throughout Rockhurst's history, a few familiar faces have made an appearance on campus.  One of the first visiting scholars was Robert Frost, and JFK received an honorary degree from Rockhurst in 1956.

In 1999, Rockhurst College officially changed its name to Rockhurst University and by 2000 Rockhurst completed its trademark bell tower (visible from any point on campus) and pergola.

In 2010, I witnessed Rockhurst history when the university received the largest donation ($10 million) in its history, launching a new campus renovation and construction campaign!

Learning about the history of Rockhurst does not even scratch the surface of all the incredible things Rockhurst stands for and all that it does for its students and the surrounding community.  I hope you've enjoyed this little history lesson and stop by Rockhurst to see history in the making.

Conway Hall in the late 1950's, lit up at night.