DeSales University
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1965 |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church (Oblates of St. Francis de Sales) |
| Endowment | $66.73 million |
| President | Rev. Bernard O'Connor |
|
Academic staff
|
125 |
| Undergraduates | 2,468 (2014) |
| Postgraduates | 777 (2014) |
| Location | Center Valley, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Colors | Blue and Red |
| Website | www.desales.edu |
DeSales University is a private Catholic university for men and women, located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before 2001, it was known as Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College.
On February 11, 1961, Joseph McShea was appointed Bishop of the Allentown Diocese by Pope John XXIII. This Diocese is composed of five counties in eastern Pennsylvania: Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill. One of the first actions of Bishop McShea was to make a study of the educational facilities of the Diocese. Since the Allentown Diocese had been split off from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, it already possessed a well-organized elementary and high school educational system. It was evident, however, that the system needed to be enlarged. Bishop McShea announced that there would be a drive to obtain funds for the expansion of the high school system, and at the same time, he called attention to the fact that there was no Catholic college for men in the Diocese. At the request of the Bishop, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales agreed to assume the responsibility for establishing a liberal arts college to serve this need.
Planning for the new college began in April 1962, and the charter for Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales, with full power to award the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, was granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on May 27, 1964. Classes began for freshmen in September 1965. Allentown College was fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools during the 1969-1970 academic year. In September 1970, the College became a co-educational institution. ACCESS, the College's continuing education department, was established in the fall of 1977. In the spring of 1988, the College opened the Easton campus, an extension of its ACCESS evening degree program.
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