Niagara University will soon turn 150 years old and a variety of festivities are being planned to mark the occasion.
Founded by the Vincentian Community in 1856, NU is a private liberal arts university with a strong, values-based Catholic tradition. Its four academic divisions include the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education and Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Nov. 21, 1856 is generally regarded as the birthday of Niagara University. On that day, six seminary students, accompanied by their two faculty members, moved from the residence of the Most Rev. John Timon, the first bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, into a vacated orphan home for boys on Best Street in Buffalo.
Needing more space, the Vincentian faculty members began searching for a new site and by Feb. 23 the following year, had reached an agreement to purchase the property the campus now sits on. On May 1, 1857, the College and Seminary of Our Lady of Angels moved from Buffalo to its new home on Monteagle Ridge.
Grover Cleveland, then governor of New York, signed the documents Aug. 7, 1883, that forged the College and Seminary into Niagara University. Over the years, NU has evolved into a comprehensive university, offering more than 50 professional and career-oriented programs for its students, both undergraduates and graduates.
More than 3,800 students were enrolled at the college last year.
Events and activities planned to highlight the sesquicentennial celebration are still in the planning stages, but will include the traditional opening of school mass in September, attended by former college presidents. A special dinner honoring the former school heads will be planned in November, followed by the birthday celebration on Nov. 21. Coinciding with all this will be a published book detailing NU’s history. “There are many other things still being lined up,” said Linus Ormsby, director of communications and public relations.
