page_title: Bellarmine University
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Bellarmine University / History / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Bellarmin University Campus in 1954
context_page_description: Bellarmine University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. The liberal arts institution opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louisville and named after the Cardinal Saint Robert Bellarmine. In 2000 the Board of Trustees changed the name to Bellarmine University. The university is organized into seven colleges and schools and confers bachelor's and master's degrees in more than 50 academic majors, along with five doctoral degrees; it is classified among "D/PU: Doctoral/Professional Universities."
  The university has an enrollment of over 3,900 students on its main 135-acre academic and residential campus in Louisville's Belknap neighborhood. At its 2011 commencement, the school graduated 482 undergraduate and graduate students, contributing to a total of 780 graduates for the school year, up from 700 the previous year.
  Bellarmine offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations. Its athletic teams are known as the Knights.
context_section_description: Bellarmine University has been led by four presidents: Msgr. Alfred Horrigan (1950–1972), Dr. Eugene V. Petrik (1973–1990), Dr. Joseph J. McGowan (1990–2016) and Susan M. Donovan (2017–present). Horrigan, elevated to Domestic Prelate by the pope in 1955, led the school during its formative years. Petrik strengthened Bellarmine's financial footing. McGowan led the school in a massive building program, culminating in his Vision 2020 plan. Fr. Raymond J. Treece served as interim president in 1972–73, between Presidents Horrigan and Petrik. Dr. John Oppelt served as acting president during McGowan's sabbatical in 1999.
  The first public announcement of the establishment of Bellarmine College was made in November 1949 by the Archbishop of Louisville, John A. Floersh. He selected Horrigan and Treece, associate editors of the Louisville Archdiocesan newspaper, The Record, to begin the school.  The two designed a curriculum and the school's core philosophy, taking cues from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and seeking advice from a number of Catholic institutions, including the University of Notre Dame, the University of Scranton, and the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.
  In 1950, The Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville founded Bellarmine College with a pioneer class of 115 freshmen. The only building, Pasteur Hall, was still without its front door on the first day of classes. Archbishop John A. Floersh called the school into existence at its first Convocation, saying, "We are looking forward to the day when the college ranks with the great colleges of our country." From its opening day under founding President Horrigan, Bellarmine welcomed people of all faiths and races. In 1953 the college added the Administration Building (now Horrigan Hall). At its first commencement in 1954, Bellarmine graduated 42 students. The Korean War interrupted or ended the educations of many in the pioneer class, but the school persevered despite rumors of closure. In December 1956, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools formally announced Bellarmine's accreditation. Enrollment rose from the initial 115 in 1950 to 1,033 in 1959.
caption: Aerial view of Bellarmine University in 1954
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