Higher Education

Cardinal Stritch University

By Anna Stevens

Cardinal Stritch University was started in Milwaukee by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. It was originally called St. Clare College, but the college was renamed nine years later in 1946 for Samuel Cardinal Stritch, a former archbishop of Milwaukee and a friend of the sisters. Although the university has grown to multiple locations throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota to become Wisconsin’s second-largest independent university, the founding Franciscan values remain a part of the programs today.

“Regardless of your focus, ours is to help you transform your life, through value-centered education,” according to Stritch’s online Admissions Statement. “It's our purpose. It's our mission. Admission to Stritch opens the door to knowledge. And to lifelong connections.”

The Minnesota locations of Cardinal Stritch, including Rochester, offer adult higher education programs such as graduate degrees in Business Administration or Science in Management, undergraduate degrees in the science field, or certificate programs in management. Rochester’s Cardinal Stritch now also offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing completion program, as well. 

Tim Elliott of the Minnesota Stritch enrollment team says, “The convenience of taking classes close to home, one night per week, allows students to fit school in with their busy lives.”