I. The University of the Incarnate Word
The University is one of the many out growths of the original mission that brought the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to San Antonio in 1869. The Sisters’ work began with the care of victims of a cholera epidemic and the establishment of the first hospital in the city, an institution recognized today as the Santa Rosa Health Care Corporation. Their ministry soon spread to the care of homeless children and to teaching. In 1881, they secured a charter from the State of Texas, which empowered them to establish schools on all levels.
In 1900, the Academy of the Incarnate Word, which had been established first in an area of San Antonio called Government Hill, was moved to the recently constructed Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Alamo Heights. College classes were added to the curriculum in 1909, and the name of the institution was changed to the College and Academy of the Incarnate Word. Both the college and the high school were affiliated with the Texas State Department of Education in 1918. The college was fully accredited by the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1925. The graduate division was added in 1950, and the school became co-educational in 1970. In 1996, it was recognized as a University. In 1998, the University was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Doctoral degrees, in addition to Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.