St. Catharine College

St. Catharine College

St. Catharine, Kentucky
Type	Private liberal arts college
Active	1931–2016
Affiliation	Roman Catholic (Dominican Sisters of Peace)
President	Dr. Cindy Meyers Gnadinger
Location	St. Catharine, Kentucky, U.S.
Colors	Purple █ and Gold █
Athletics	NAIA – MSC
Nickname	Patriots
Affiliations	ACCU NAICU
Website	http://www.sccky.edu

St. Catharine College was a small Roman Catholic liberal arts college located near Springfield, Kentucky in the United States. The college was formerly accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and had a peak enrollment of 750 students.

The college closed operations at the end of July 2016 due to a significant budget shortfall and a continuing lawsuit against the federal government.

St. Catharine College traced its roots to classes held in a "still house" in the early 1800s. In 1839, the Kentucky Sisters of St. Dominic obtained a charter to grant educational degrees and a campus was built along Bardstown Road, today's U.S. Route 150.

After a fire in 1904 destroyed the school's main building, the decision was made to rebuild. A statue and plaque were installed to mark the location of the original building.

In 1920, the state amended the school's charter to give it the authority to found colleges and grant collegiate degrees. In 1931, the school was re-dedicated as St. Catharine College, a women's academy and junior college.

The school became co-educational in 1951 and received accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1958.

In late 2003, St. Catharine Junior College received approval from the United States Department of Education to begin offering four-year programs. The Richard S. Hamilton Health and Sciences Building, containing classrooms and laboratories, was completed in 2006. Aquinas Hall, an apartment-style upperclassmen residence hall, was opened in 2011. The Emily W. Hundley Library was added in 2013.

The college was originally governed by the Officers of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters, with the Mother Mary Louis Logsdon, O.P. serving as the college president from 1931 to 1941. In 1957, Sister Jean Marie Calahan, O.P., who was not an officer of the congregation, became the next college president. Martha Layne Collins, who had been the first woman to serve as Governor of Kentucky, was the college's sixth president.