The University of San Francisco — a premier Jesuit university — is a reflection of the inclusive, inspirational, innovative city that surrounds it. They provide students from all backgrounds an education that is intensely personal and intellectually demanding.
For them, reason, religion, science, and spirituality are complementary. Their students see the world with a sense of awe and wonder, and with a curiosity for answers to the world’s most complex questions.
Vision & Mission
Jesuit tradition defines USF’s approach to learning and their commitment to welcoming students of every faith and no faith. Their vision and mission are the foundations of their university, and reflect the shared views of their institution.
Vision
The University of San Francisco will be internationally recognized as a premier Jesuit Catholic, urban university with a global perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world.
Mission
The core mission of the university is to promote learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as persons and professionals, and the values and sensitivity necessary to be men and women for others.
The university will distinguish itself as a diverse, socially responsible learning community of high quality scholarship and academic rigor sustained by a faith that does justice. The university will draw from the cultural, intellectual, and economic resources of the San Francisco Bay Area and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich and strengthen its educational programs.
History
The University of San Francisco, the city's first university, was established by the Jesuits in October 1855. USF’s founding president, Anthony Maraschi, S.J., arrived in San Francisco as an Italian immigrant in 1854. The next year, he borrowed $11,500 to build a Jesuit church and school on a few sand dunes on the south side of Market Street and proclaimed, “Here, in time, will be the heart of a great city.” Father Maraschi was right. Around the original site of USF, a dynamic, diverse, distinctive city has grown and thrives. And at each step of that city’s development, USF has provided leadership and service.
When the original college, known as St. Ignatius Academy, opened its doors to its first class, three students showed up—that number grew to 65 by 1858. The State of California granted the college a charter in 1859.
In 1880, the College moved to a new building on Van Ness Avenue in the Civic Center (currently the site of the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall). After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the college was relocated to a “temporary” quarters at Hayes and Shrader Streets, known as the “shirt factory,” and currently the location of one of the clinics of St. Mary’s Medical Center.
The Jesuits acquired a small strip of property at the corner of Fulton Street and Parker Avenue, and in 1914, they completed the current St. Ignatius Church at that site. By 1927, to accommodate the growing student population, a liberal arts building was built just to the east of the church, and the college moved to its present location.
In 1930, on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee, and at the request of alumni groups, St. Ignatius College was renamed the University of San Francisco. In 1964, the university became fully co-educational, welcoming women to all programs. Lone Mountain was purchased by USF in 1978, extending the campus to 55 acres.
