La Salle University La Salle University is a private , co - educational , Roman Catholic university located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , U . S . Named for St . Jean - Baptiste de La Salle , the school was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools . As of 2008 the school has approximately 7 , 554 students , about 63 % of whom are undergraduates . Located in northwestern Philadelphia , the university is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia . The comprehensive cost for a year of tuition is . History . La Salle College was founded in March 1863 as an all - male school by Brother Teliow and Archbishop James Wood of Archdiocese of Philadelphia . It was first located at St . Michael ' s Parish on N . 2nd Street in the Olde Kensington section of Philadelphia . La Salle soon moved to the building vacated by St . Joseph ' s College at 1234 Filbert Street in Center City , Philadelphia . In 1886 , due to the development of the Center City district , La Salle moved to a third location , the former mansion of Michael Bouvier , the great - great - grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , at 1240 North Broad Street . Due to space constraints , La Salle finally moved to its current campus at the intersection of 20th Street and Olney Avenue in 1930 . The new location had a suburban feel with ample land , but was linked to the city by trolleys and the newly constructed Broad Street Subway . The 1930s proved to be a tumultuous decade for La Salle , which was nearly bankrupt after being unable to sell the 1240 North Broad Street property . The main academic building on campus , College Hall was unable to be finished due to a lack of funds , and the college nearly closed in the late 1930s . The school ' s closing was prevented by a 75th Anniversary Fund Drive in 1938 , spearheaded by Philadelphia businessman John McCarthy . Funds raised from this drive also enabled La Salle to purchase a tract of land to the east of 19th Street , where Philadelphia had intended to build a city college . La Salle nearly closed again due to a lack of students during World War II , and the football team was disbanded due to a lack of players , but the school experienced a period of growth in the late 1940s . Several new buildings were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s , including a new library , student union , and a science building . It was also during this time that the first student residence halls were constructed at La Salle , mostly on land purchased from the former Belfield Country Club . Additional student housing was provided by purchasing or renting local homes , such as the house known as " The Mansion " , on David and Logan Blain ' s Belfield Estate . La Salle admitted women to its regular classes in 1970 , becoming a fully co - educational institution . A year later , La Salle opened Olney Hall , its main academic building . It also continued to expand its property throughout the 1970s and 1980s , buying land along Chew Avenue , along with the Belfield Estate in 1984 , and to the south of main - campus , the orphanage run by the Sisters of St . Basil the Great . It was also during this era , in 1984 , that La Salle was granted University status . Recently , La Salle has acquired the former Germantown Hospital , now West Campus , and constructed The Shoppes at La Salle shopping center across the street in 2008 . Governance . The University is led by a Board of Trustees headed by a President and Chairman . The President serves one or more 5 – year terms . , there have been 28 Presidents , the current President being Michael McGinniss , who will retire from the post at the end of his tenure in 2014 . , the Chairman is Bill Sautter . Academics . La Salle offers undergraduate concentrations in nearly 60 academic areas within its College of Professional and Continuing Studies and its three Schools : Arts & Sciences , Business Administration , and Nursing & Health Sciences . Communication , Nursing , and Education are the largest majors at La Salle . Several new and distinctive high - tech majors include Integrated Science , Business and Technology ( ISBT ) and Digital Arts and Multimedia Design ( DArt ) . The College of Professional and Continuing Studies offers three accelerated cohort programs in Business Administration , Corporate Communication , and Organizational Leadership . The university also offers master ' s degree s and doctorate degrees in several courses of study . Every undergraduate , regardless of school or major , must complete a strict Core curriculum in order to graduate . Offering sustained study in a broad range of disciplines , the Core curriculum provides students with an opportunity to build a strong educational foundation for the future . Guided by La Salle ' s heritage as a Catholic university , the core curriculum reflects La Salle ' s strong commitment to the interdependence of intellectual and spiritual growth . Its aim is to help students find an engaging living as part of an engaged life . As future competitors in a rapidly re - forming world , students need intellectual resources that keep pace with current innovations ; as future innovators , students need spiritual resources that guide human beings towards humane reforms . Undergraduates must complete the three facets of the Special Core Programs , as well as courses within the three Course Objectives . Special Core Programs . The Special Core Programs consists of the " Doubles Program " , " First Year Odyssey " , and " Understanding at Home and Abroad " . Course Objectives . The Course Objectives consist of the " Powers " , " Frameworks of Scientific Understanding " , and " Patterns of Meaning " . Course Requirements . All courses in the core may be counted towards any minor or major barring exclusions by the academic departments sponsoring the minor or major . To complete the Core requirements , most School of Arts and Sciences majors must complete a maximum of 19 courses ; School of Business Administration majors , a maximum of 16 courses ; and School of Nursing and Health Sciences majors , a maximum of 15 courses . Athletics . " See also : " Men ' s Basketball , Football La Salle University ' s 20 varsity sports teams , known as the Explorers , compete in the NCAA ' s Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference . The name derives from a 1931 mistake made by a sportswriter . The writer thought the university was named after the French explorer Sieur de La Salle , when in fact it is named after St . Jean - Baptiste de La Salle and was officially chosen in a student contest during the spring of 1932 . La Salle ' s teams have won two national championship s : The 1954 NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1980 Division II AIAW Field Hockey Championship . The school also won the 1952 National Invitation Tournament . La Salle ' s major historic rival has been the Hawks of the Saint Joseph ' s University , especially in men ' s basketball . Not only are both schools situated in Philadelphia , but they are also both Catholic , private institutions . Campus . La Salle moved to its fourth and present location in 1931 . The campus is located in part on Belfield , the estate of Charles Willson Peale , the Revolutionary War patriot and painter famous for his portraits of the founding fathers , most notably , George Washington . His home is the current office of the University president and is possibly the oldest building currently in use by any university in the nation . A satellite campus and Conference Center in Newtown , Bucks County , Pennsylvania , the La Salle University Bucks County Center , offers graduate courses in various disciplines , undergraduate courses in nursing , and continuing education courses . The Conference Center comprises fifteen instructional rooms with seating capacities ranging from 20 to 40 , along with four computer laboratories with 100 workstations . La Salle also offers M . B . A . and Clinical - Counseling Psychology M . A . classes at the Plymouth Meeting Metroplex Corporate Center in Montgomery County , Pennsylvania . La Salle University Art Museum . The La Salle University Art Museum is located in the basement of Olney Hall and houses a collection of European and American art from the Renaissance to the present . The museum also owns a number of special collections including Japanese prints . The art museum is also home to the “ Walking Madonna ” one of four by the British artist Dame Elisabeth Frink . Frink created the sculpture in 1981 , the other “ Walking Madonna ” sculptures remain in England , with one in Salisbury and the other in Frink ’ s garden at her home . Connelly Library , Special Collections . The Department of Special Collections in the Connelly Library houses a diverse range of materials , from 15th century illuminated devotionals to subject collections treating contemporary social issues . Bodies of work include literature , music , films , art , archival material and ephemera . The discrete collections maintained by the department explore a variety of themes in aural , narrative and illustrative form . Special Collections maintains a focus on acquiring , cataloging and housing unique material that is tied to undergraduate pedagogy and is freely available to researchers . Highlights of the Collections include the largest collection of literary and creative works on the Vietnam War in the world , a one of a kind academic collection of work on Bob Dylan , hundreds of originative works on the Holocaust and psychic trauma , primary sources on local history , and rare and beautiful editions of the Holy Bible . Food . La Salle has two dining halls , one on each end of campus . The newer Treetops Cafe is on south campus next to St . Basil Court and St . John Neumann Residence Halls and is open seven days a week . The Blue and Gold Commons , located on Olney Avenue , next to the North Residence Halls Complex , is only open on weekdays . In both of these dining halls , one may purchase food with a meal plan , Food Account Money , or cash . In the La Salle Student Union is The Union Food Court , which has several " store fronts " . Each of these " store fronts " specializes in a certain type of food , including pizza , burgers , baked goods , sandwiches , salads , and international cuisine . Unlike the other two dining facilities , meal plan is not accepted . In Fall 2012 , La Salle food services signed a deal with Aramark , and the Union now hosts a Subway and Starbucks , replacing the former smoothie bar and Late Night Intermissions . La Salle owns and runs The Explorers Den , a cheesesteak , pizza and burger shop located on the 2100 block of Olney Avenue . Student Housing . Since 1953 , La Salle has hosted resident students . There are several student housing complexes : North Residence Halls , Sts . Edward and Francis Residence Halls , St . Miguel Townhouses , St . Teresa Court Apartments , La Salle Apartments , and the South Campus Residence Halls ( St . Basil Court and St . John Neumann ) . Student life . Students at La Salle are offered many varied opportunities to participate at different degrees and in many different ways . There are several organizations and a student programming center whose mission is primarily to plan activities ( games , movie nights , bus trips , etc . ) for the students of La Salle University . The Communication Department operates La Salle 56 , a cable TV Educational - access television station available to 300 , 000 subscribers . The university also has a student - run radio station , WEXP and a student - run weekly newspaper , " The Collegian " along with over 100 other intramurals , clubs , and NCAA division I sports offered . Greek life . One of the aspects of La Salle ' s social scene are its fraternities and sororities . La Salle ' s Greek community consists of five sororities ( Alpha Theta Alpha , Alpha Sigma Tau , Gamma Sigma Sigma , Gamma Phi Beta , and Delta Phi Epsilon ) and five fraternities ( Delta Sigma Phi , Sigma Phi Epsilon , Alpha Chi Rho , Alpha Phi Delta , Sigma Phi Lambda , and Phi Beta Sigma ) . " Day ONE " . The first day of a student ' s time at La Salle occurs at the orientation program called Day ONE , which stands for Orienting New Explorers . The day consists of giving essential information to new students and their families , but its primary objective is to build relationships : relationships between the new students and other new students , between the new students and their upper division student hosts , between new students and administration and faculty , and between the students ' families and the school . Sessions . During the orientation students make their schedule , get their photo taken for their ID , and participate in discussion sessions about important information . Resident students get a presentation on living on campus and see a residence hall , while commuters see a similar presentation about getting involved while living off campus . The other important aspect of this day in the introduction of The Affirmation , which is read line by line and discussed throughout the different sessions of the day . Community Service . FOCUS is the umbrella name for FOCUS Philly ( the weekly Philadelphia area community service programs ) and the Lasallian Service Trips ( the five annual domestic and international service trips ) . Coordinators and professional staff work together to plan and implement programs , to recruit student volunteers , to engage current partners , and to research new partners for the expansion of student - volunteer efforts . La Salle service programs include : AIDS Outreach , The Alliance , Circle K , Foster Care Tutoring , LOCK ( La Salle Organization Caring for Kids ) , Neighbor to Neighbor , Neighborhood Tutoring , Police Athletic League ( PAL ) , Pheed Philadelphia , Promise Academy , REACHE , Team Lasallians , Women ’ s Relationship Awareness Program ( WRAP ) , Students for Environmental Action ( SEA ) , Students in Action . Philosophy . Learning , Involvement , Community , Relationships Learning is the reason students attend La Salle in the first place . Involvement is the mechanism through which learning can happen . Community provides the environment that most strongly promotes involvement . Making strong relationships is the first step toward forming a community . Expansion and Master Plan . La Salle has worked with Philadelphia architecture firm H2L2 to assist in the development of a Campus Facilities Master Plan , building upon a previous plan completed by the University in 1985 . Key components of the Master Plan are the following : New Science and Technology Building , New Athletic Arena , Student Recreation Center , additional student housing , Dining Hall , Chapel , Fine Arts and Theater Building , parking garage , and additional commercial activity . Accommodating the above facilities while orchestrating seamless connections between the disparate areas of the campus is one of the Plan ' s greatest accomplishments . Topography , city streets , and heavy traffic , all initially appeared as impediments to the development of a true campus . Improved vehicular and pedestrian circulation patterns now yield enhanced links to memorable spaces , uniting this Campus into one whole , while satisfying all programmatic requirements . In the Fall of 2005 , the $ 26 million dollar first phase of this master plan was completed with the construction of Tree Tops Cafe ( dining hall ) and St . Basil Court ( Residence Hall ) . St . Basil ' s houses approximately 430 students . Three of the building ' s wings feature " suites " , in which four students share two bedrooms and one bathroom . The fourth wing ' s rooms have the traditional one - room for housing two students with communal bathrooms . The facilities have lounges , study rooms , and special purpose rooms . Basil is the only co - educational dorm at La Salle in which both genders may live on the same floor ( albeit not in the same room ) . A $ 2 . 5 million dollar athletic field renovation was completed in the Fall of 2006 . In May 2007 , the university purchased adjacent Germantown Hospital for $ 10 million dollars . The acquired has become " West Campus " , and increased the campus size by 25 percent . A $ 15 million dollar shopping center and supermarket complex opened in Fall 2008 . Phase two was the completion of the New Science and Technology Building . The renovated Holroyd Science Center was completed in Fall 2009 .