La Roche College
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| Motto | "Engaging Minds. Embracing the World." |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1963 |
| Affiliation |
Catholic (Sisters of Divine Providence) |
| Endowment | $3.4 million |
| President | Sister Candace Introcaso |
| Dean | Howard Ishiyama |
| Students | 1,465 |
| Undergraduates | 1,103 |
| Location |
McCandless, Pennsylvania, US 40°34′05″N 80°00′50″W / 40.568°N 80.014°WCoordinates: 40°34′05″N 80°00′50″W / 40.568°N 80.014°W |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Red and white |
| Athletics | NCAA Division III – AMCC |
| Nickname | Redhawks |
| Mascot | Red hawk |
| Affiliations |
ACCU CIC |
| Website | www |
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La Roche College is a private college in McCandless, a suburb of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a Roman Catholic college and now sits on an 80-acre (320,000 m2) campus in McCandless within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The current president, Sister Candace Introcaso, CDP, Ph.D., was installed in 2004 and replaced the previous president, Monsignor William Kerr. Recent additions to the school include the Kerr Fitness and Sports Center in 1993; an annex building for classrooms built adjacent to the Zappala College Center in 2002; and new residence halls, Bold Hall I and Bold Hall II, in 1997 and 2003, respectively.
La Roche College was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a private college for religious sisters. It was named in honor of Stephanie Amelia la Roche von Starkenfels, the first Mother Superior of the Sisters of Divine Providence. The first president of the college was Sister Annunciata Sohl, C.D.P., who served until 1968. The college had begun to admit its first lay students by 1965. It continued to grow, and two years later, La Roche expanded beyond its leased space to construct the first College building, the John J. Wright Library.
La Roche encountered financial difficulties soon after its founding. Although closing the college was considered, Sister de la Salle Mahler, C.D.P., president from 1969 to 1975, carried on. The Board amended its charter in 1970 to establish La Roche as an independent, coeducational Catholic institution, while also diversifying course offerings through an affiliation with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. This partnership made available several new areas of study, including graphic and interior design, which count among the College's strongest programs today.
An enrollment boom made the construction of two new residence halls necessary in the mid-1970s. Under College President Sister Mary Joan Coultas, C.D.P. (1975–80), the College launched its first capital campaign in 1979, garnering enough to construct the Palumbo Science Center, which opened in 1980. During Divine Providence Sister Margaret Huber's eleven-year tenure as president beginning in 1981, the college continued to grow, marking its 25th anniversary in 1987 with the dedication of the $2.5 million-Zappala College Center. The Magdalen Chapel was added in 1990, and in 1993 the college opened the Kerr Fitness and Sports Center.
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