Chatham University Chatham University is an American university with a women ' s undergraduate college and coeducational graduate programs through the doctoral level , located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , United States . The campus population of approximately 2 , 300 includes undergraduate women and graduate women and men . The University grants certificates and degrees including bachelor , master , first - professional , and doctorate . In 2005 the University expanded its programs to include online advanced degree programs ( bachelors , masters , doctoral ) through the School of Continuing Education , now the College for Continuing and Professional Studies . History . Founded as the Pennsylvania Female College on December 11 , 1869 , by Reverend William Trimble Beatty , Chatham was initially situated in the Berry mansion on Woodland Road off Fifth Avenue in the neighborhood of Shadyside . The campus today is composed of buildings and grounds from a number of former private mansions , including those of Andrew Mellon , Edward Stanton Fickes , George M . Laughlin Jr . and James Rea . It was renamed Pennsylvania College for Women in 1890 , and as Chatham College in 1955 . The name served to honor William Pitt , 1st Earl of Chatham and namesake of the City of Pittsburgh . The school gained university status from the Pennsylvania Department of Education on April 23 , 2007 , and publicly announced its new status on 2007 - 05 - 01 , changing its name to Chatham University . With elements designed for the original Andrew Mellon estate by the renowned Olmsted Brothers , the Chatham campus was designated an arboretum in 1998 by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta . It features over 115 different varieties of species , including Japanese Flowering Crabapple , River Birch and Kentucky Coffee Tree . The Arboretum provides an outdoor classroom for students in the University ’ s Landscape Architecture and Landscape Studies programs , as well as an inviting place to stroll and to meditate . In 2007 , Chatham ' s M . F . A . Program in Creative Writing was named one of the top five Innovative / Unique Programs by " The Atlantic Monthly " . Campuses . The original Shadyside Campus is part of historic Woodland Road . The Shadyside Campus now includes Chatham Eastside , which serves as the home for health science and architecture programs . The University ’ s new Eden Hall Campus is located north of the city in Richland Township , Pa . and will be the home of Chatham ’ s new School of Sustainability and the Environment . Programs at Eden Hall Campus include initiatives in sustainability and environmental studies , food studies , landscape architecture , and women ’ s studies . The Eden Hall Campus was donated to Chatham University by the Eden Hall Foundation on May 1 , 2008 . Currently the architectural team of Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell ( BNIM ) of Kansas City , Mo . , which is partnering with landscape design firm Andropogon Associates of Philadelphia to lead the master planning process . Academics . The University structure includes three distinctive Colleges : Chatham College for Women houses academic and co - curricular programs for undergraduate women and embodies the traditions and rituals of the traditional women ' s college . The College for Graduate Studies offers women and men both masters and doctoral programs . Programs within the College for Graduate Studies include concentrations in art and architecture , business , health sciences , teaching and creative writing . The College for Continuing and Professional Studies , formerly the School of Continuing Education , provides online and hybrid undergraduate and graduate degree programs for women and men , certificate programs , and community programming including the Summer Music and Arts Day Camp . School of Sustainability and the Environment . The School of Sustainability and the Environment , founded June 2009 , further expands the potential of the Eden Hall Campus and honors the legacy of its 1929 alumna and founder of the modern environmental movement , Rachel Carson . SSE will provide opportunities for the University ’ s students to earn certificates and degrees through the master ’ s level . The first program offered through SSE is the Master of Arts in Food Studies , which enrolled 30 students in its inaugural year . SSE will eventually be located at the University ' s Eden Hall Campus . In fall 2010 the University selected David M . Hassenzahl , Ph . D . as the founding Dean of the School of Sustainability and the Environment . Dr . Hassenzahl is the coauthor of several books , including " Should We Risk It ? " ( Princeton University Press ) with Daniel M . Kammen ; " Environment " ( J . Wiley and Sons ) , with Peter Raven and Linda Berg , and , most recently , " Visualizing Environmental Science " ( J . Wiley and Sons ) , with Linda Berg and Mary Catherine Hager . Accreditation . Chatham University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education , 3624 Market Street , Philadelphia , PA 19104 ( 267 ) 284 - 5000 . Likewise , several degree programs are accredited by external accrediting bodies : Mission statement . Chatham University prepares its students , bachelors through doctoral level , on campus and around the world , to excel in their professions and to be engaged , environmentally responsible , globally conscious , lifelong learners , and citizen leaders for democracy . The women ’ s undergraduate program offers superb career preparation informed by the liberal arts ; other entities within the University provide men and women with undergraduate , graduate , professional , and continuing education of the highest quality with primary emphasis on preparation for work and the professions . Athletics . Chatham University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ' s Division III . The Cougars are a member of the Presidents ' Athletic Conference ( PAC ) . Women ' s sports include basketball , cross country , ice hockey , soccer , softball , swimming & diving , tennis , track & field and volleyball . Notable alumni . Among Chatham ' s notable alumnae is biologist and zoologist Rachel Carson ( 1929 ) , after whom the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham is named . The RCI , as it is known , promotes understanding of environmental issues through conferences , lectures , discussion panels , and other methods . In honor of Rachel Carson ' s legacy , the University President , Esther L . Barazzone , Ph . D . and others led a campaign to rename the Ninth Street Bridge in Downtown Pittsburgh as the Rachel Carson Bridge . The naming resolution was passed by Allegheny County Council on December 6 , 2005 . The Rachel Carson Bridge is one of the " Three Sisters " Bridges , opened between 1926 and 1928 , and designed by County architect Stanley L . Roush and the Allegheny County Department of Public Works . The Roberto Clemente Bridge ( formerly Sixth Street Bridge ) and the Andy Warhol Bridge ( formerly Seventh Street Bridge ) complete the trio of bridges . They are the only trio of nearly identical bridges and were the first self - anchored suspension spans built in the United States . They are among the only surviving examples of large eyebar - chain suspension bridge s in the country . Other notable alumnae include :