Founded by the Vincentian Community in 1856, Niagara University 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. The university also maintains an Academic Exploration Program that provides a learning community for undecided students about their major. Located on the Niagara River overlooking the Province of Ontario, Canada, the university is located at the northern limits of the City of Niagara Falls, N.Y., about four miles from world-famous cataracts. More than 4,200 students are enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs.
Nov. 21, 1856, is generally regarded as the birthdate of Niagara University. On that day, six seminary students, accompanied by two faculty members, moved from the Most Rev. John Timon, C.M., the first bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, into a vacated orphan home for boys on Best Street in Buffalo. The six-acre site, however, was less than ideal. So the two Vincentian faculty members, Fathers John J. Lynch and John Monaghan, immediately began searching for an ideal setting for the seminary.
During a visit to the Village of Suspension Bridge (now Niagara Falls) that same winter, they learned that the 100-acre Vedder farm, located a few miles north on Monteagle Ridge, was for sale. Negotiations ensued, and on Feb. 23, 1857, an agreement was reached for the purchase of the property. Less than two months later, Father Lynch purchased the adjoining 200-acre DeVeaux farm complete with a barn and the two-story tavern known as The Half-Way House. On May 1, 1857, 23 weeks after its founding, the College and Seminary of Our Lady of Angels moved from Buffalo to its new home on Monteagle Ridge.
The barroom and bowling alley in The Half-Way House (named for its location between Suspension Bridge and Lewiston) became the sacristy and chapel, respectively. The attic, and later the barn loft, provided dormitory facilities. The fall of 1857 saw enrollment increase from six to 24 students. The following year it rose to 80, resulting in the expansion of existing facilities. The year 1859 also saw Father Lynch, the university's co-founder with Bishop Timon, appointed coadjutor bishop of Toronto, Ontario.
Niagara University is a liberal arts university in the Vincentian and Catholic traditions. Fundamental to the academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs at NU is the conviction that the students need, on the one hand, to be prepared for productive roles in society and, on the other, to be provided with the opportunity to fulfill their intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual potential. The various colleges offer courses and directed experiences that equip students for various professions and other careers. A broadly based, integrated program of liberal arts and sciences courses, supported by an array of extracurricular activities chosen for the wide variety of their appeal, is designed to supply holistic education.
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