History of St. Vincent's College

Founded in 1905 as the St. Vincent’s Hospital Training School for Nurses by the Daughters of Charity and known for decades as the School of Nursing, St. Vincent’s College graduated generations of nurses and other allied health professionals.

The school’s curriculum incorporated learning about medical and technological developments. From early advances in lab science and radiology to the latest computers, scanners and fiber optic scopes that have revolutionized medicine, St. Vincent’s College prepared students for careers in health care and served as a resource for the entire community.

In 1991, the school was officially incorporated as St. Vincent’s College, ushering in a new era of growth. Offering a wide range of educational programs to a diverse student population, St. Vincent’s College graduated more than 4,500 radiographers, cardiovascular technologists, medical assistants, nurses and other health-care professionals.

St. Vincent’s College joined Sacred Heart University in July 2018, creating new opportunities in innovative health-care education and offering students dynamic pathways in the evolving health-care industry. In 2024, the college closed and its programs moved into the College of Health Professions and the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing.

The contributions of the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing and St. Vincent's College are vast. With hundreds of graduates over its century-long history, who have been the backbone of the nursing workforce and continue to leave their mark in their communities, the legacy of St. Vincent’s will endure for years to come. At SHU, St. Vincent’s lives on through the creation of the St. Vincent’s Scholars program, preservation of archival items and the history wall in the Academic Center’s hallway.