Notre Dame College

Notre Dame College is a Catholic, coeducational, liberal arts college in South Euclid, Ohio, United States. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and individually designed majors and confers undergraduate and graduate degrees through five academic divisions. The college has a current total enrollment of 2,250 students. The 48-acre 19.4 ha main academic and residential campus is located 10 miles 16 km east of Cleveland in South Euclid.Fielding athletic teams known as the Notre Dame Falcons, the college is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level.Notre Dame is a member of the Mountain East Conference MEC a Division II conference that began playing in the 2013–14 school year. Prior to joining the NCAA the college competed in the NAIA as a member of the American Mideast Conference. The official school and athletic colors are royal blue and gold.While the majority of Notre Dame's students are from Ohio the student body represents 38 states and 19 countries. The college offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies clubs and student organizations. Alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment. Notre Dame College was founded in the summer of 1922 on Ansel Road as a women's college under the guidance of Mother M. Cecilia Rome. Later that year, Mother Mary Barista Harks became NDC's first president 1922–1943. In its early years the college had a faculty population of 9 and a full-time student enrollment of 13 women and 11 novices; in addition 30 students were enrolled in extension courses. On June 15, 1925, NDC conferred its first graduating class in the form of two-year teaching certificates. In the following year, 14 students received their bachelor's degrees and state certificates to teach in Ohio high schools; becoming NDC’s first graduating class of four-year college degrees.In June 1923, the Sisters leased 39 acres 15.8 ha along Green Road in South Euclid to build a new campus and purchased 15 acres 6.1 ha in 1924. Construction of the campus began in the fall of 1926 and opened on Sept. 17, 1928. The college later bought the 39 leased acres 160,000 m2in 1933. The college was originally located in a single building and expanded over time, Harks Hall was built in 1955 to house resident students with two other residence halls built in the 1960s. NDC constructed the Clara Fritzsche Library in 1971 and the Keller Center in 1987.Traditionally, this institution of higher education was primarily a residential campus, but in 1978, Notre Dame College began to offer a program known as Weekend College, or WECO. Local residents whose schedules prevented them from taking classes during the normal work week enrolled in weekend college classes to earn a degree. In 2003, WECO celebrated its 25th anniversary. On December 8, 1983, based on its architectural importance, Notre Dame College's historic Administration Building, built in 1927 in the Tudor Revival and other styles, was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Notre Dame College of Ohio. The building, designed by architect Thomas D. McLaughlin and built by contractor John T. Gill, originally housed the entire college.In the fall of 1991, Notre Dame’s Master of Education program started. The college saw its first M.Ed. graduates in 1994. Although men had been allowed to enroll in certain programs, such as NDC's Law Enforcement Education A.A. degree program in 1969 and later WECO and master's programs, in 2001 the college officially became coeducational with its first full-time male enrollment. The college graduated its first co-ed class on May 7, 2005. Since the college became coeducational it has seen enrollment double from nearly 1,000 in 2001 to over 2,000 in 2010. In 2008, NDC began construction on two additional residence halls, North and South halls. The structures opened in 2009 at a cost of $15 million.NDC's athletic teams are known as the Falcons, the colors are blue and gold. The school sponsors 22 intercollegiate teams. The college is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association  at the Division II level. In August 2012, Notre Dame became a charter member of the Mountain East Conference. MEC, a new Division II league that began play in the 2013–14 school year. The MEC, made up mostly of schools leaving the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, also includes another Ohio school, Urbana University. It will sponsor 16 sports, eight each for men and women.Notre Dame College previously competed in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics  as a member of the American Mideast Conference . The college began the transition process during the 2009-10 academic year as a candidacy institution and was granted provisional status for the 2011-12 academic year. In July 2012, the college received notice it was accepted as a full member starting in the 2012-13 academic year as a full member the college is eligible for postseason conference and NCAA competition. During its time in the NAIA, the college was known for its men's wrestling program. The team won back-to-back NAIA National Championships in 2010 and 2011.In 2014, the school's second year of NCAA eligibility, Notre Dame College won the Division II national wrestling championship.