Record Staff Report
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Ursuline College’s merger with Bellarmine College, which is now Bellarmine University.
The Ursuline Sisters and leaders of the university launched a year-long celebration to commemorate the merger, according to a press release from Bellarmine. The celebration started June 2 with a tour of the university by members of Ursuline College’s last graduating class.
Ursuline College was a Catholic college for women founded by the Ursuline Sisters in 1938. In 1968 it merged with Bellarmine College, a Catholic school for men. The merged school was called Bellarmine-Ursuline College for three years while students who had enrolled at either school completed their studies, said the release. The name became Bellarmine College in 1971.
Ursuline Sister Janet Marie Peterworth, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, said in the release that “it is wonderful to know that 50 years later Ursuline College still lives on in the historical memory of Bellarmine University.”
Dr. Susan M. Donovan, Bellarmine’s president, said “The legacy of Ursuline College and Ursuline core values of community, reverence, service and leadership as well as their commitment to social justice and care of creation are continually present in Bellarmine’s mission, curriculum and campus life.”
A full calendar of events for the year-long celebration will be announced in the fall and it will include opportunities for Bellarmine students to spend time with the Ursuline Sisters and a tree planting ceremony on campus in October.
To learn more, visit bellarmine.edu/ursuline-celebration.
