Company Profile
Fontbonne University
Company Overview
Fontbonne University is a vibrant and strong academic institution located in the Clayton suburb within the St. Louis metropolitan area. We were founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and established in the Catholic tradition, yet we serve and welcome a diverse group of students from all faiths, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. With nearly 1,000 students enrolled, we offer Division III athletics, a large range of student organizations, and more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Fontbonne University is uniquely situated to offer the best of city sights and scenes coupled with beautiful and historic homes and neighborhoods.
Believing that diversity contributes to academic excellence and to rich and rewarding communities, Fontbonne University is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body. Candidates from historically under-represented groups, whose work furthers our diversity and inclusion efforts and who bring to campus varied life experiences, perspectives and backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.
Open your mind. Follow your heart. Take the leap. Challenging, welcoming, affordable. Fontbonne will prepare you for an engaged and rewarding life, no matter how you’re called to serve.
Our Mission & Vision:
Fontbonne University, a Catholic institution founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, provides transformative education committed to the common good, inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically and act ethically to create a more just world.
Company History
Fontbonne University takes its name from Mother St. John Fontbonne, who, in 1808 after the French Revolution, refounded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ). More than a century and a half before, in 1650, the Sisters of St. Joseph had been founded in LePuy, France. During the French Revolution, the sisters were forced to return to their homes and the community was dispersed. Some 28 years after the refounding, six Sisters of St. Joseph came to the United States in 1836 and established American roots at Carondelet, a small community in south St. Louis, Missouri. Five years later, in 1841, they opened St. Joseph’s Academy for girls.
The Sisters would eventually establish a college to provide access to higher education for women — a need in the early decades of the 20th century. Fontbonne College’s first classes were held in 1923, at Carondelet in South St. Louis, and then two years later, the school moved to its current Clayton campus.
The CSJ heritage of strength and stability stems from values found in the order’s original documents and repeated in other records through the succeeding centuries. At least eight values can be identified throughout this long CSJ history: quality, respect, diversity, community, justice, service, faith, and Catholic presence.
It is on the tradition of service and based on the values of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, that Fontbonne University was founded. A devotion to the tradition continues to move Fontbonne forward into the future.
History of Fontbonne University - Milestones
1923 — First classes begin at Carondelet following World War I
1925 — Fontbonne classes move to new location at Wydown and Big Bend Boulevards in Clayton, Missouri
1927 — Eight women receive first baccalaureate degrees from Fontbonne
1930 to 1950 — Comprehensive liberal arts curriculum is developed. There’s growth of the departments of education and home economics. A cafeteria, swimming pool, and gymnasium are added to the original buildings of Ryan Hall, Science Building, Fine Arts Building. A dedication of Medaille Hall, first residence hall occurs. The school receives North Central accreditation.
1950 to 1960 — Department of education is expanded to include special education, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and mental handicaps. A major in deaf education links Fontbonne with St. Joseph’s Institute for the Deaf. The department of communication disorders is established to prepare teachers for speech impaired children and adults
1960 to 1980 — Admission of male students marks a first. Service programs are expanded to areas such as dietetics, special education, communication disorders and deaf education. A predominately lay board of trustees is formed. The Fontbonne Library is dedicated, along with two more residence halls.
1980 to 2000— Significant growth is seen in the department of business and administration as well as graduate programs in art, business, communication disorders, computer science, education, and taxation. The department of home economics grows into the department of human environmental sciences. Two major fundraising campaigns are completed for a total of $12 million. The Heritage Club is formed to recognize donors to endowment. A growth in nontraditional students, weekend and evening programs is seen leading to OPTIONS, a nontraditional program geared for the working adult desiring undergraduate and graduate degrees in business. The athletic program advanced to NCAA Division III. The Dunham Student Activity Center was established. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education finds Fontbonne’s department of education/special education to be one of the best in the state. Fontbonne community grows in diversity of cultures and faiths. Departments are restructured to meet the needs of two commencements annually (December and May). The first male president, Dr. Dennis C. Golden, is inaugurated in September 1995. Information technology capabilities are expanded throughout the campus. The school celebrates its 75th anniversary during the1998-99 academic year.
2000-present day — March 14, 2002, marks the change in status from college to university. Fontbonne completes renovations of the Fine Arts building in 2000, East building in 2004, the Dunham Student Activity Center in 2005, and Anheuser Busch Hall (formerly the Science Building) in 2009. Three distinct colleges are developed within the university. The Bosnia Memory Project, Fontbonne Community Connection and Mustard Seed Theatre are established. Fontbonne achieves unqualified full accreditation through 2020. The university’s international population grows significantly. Dr. Golden retires, and Dr. J. Michael Pressimone serves as Fontbonne’s 14th president from 2014–2020. Dr. Nancy Blattner becomes the university’s 15th president in 2020.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
About Fontbonne University:
Fontbonne University is a vibrant and strong academic institution located in the Clayton suburb within the St. Louis metropolitan area. We were founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and established in the Catholic tradition, yet we serve and welcome a diverse group of students from all faiths, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. With nearly 1,000 students enrolled, we offer Division III athletics, a large range of student organizations, and more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Fontbonne University is uniquely situated to offer the best of city sights and scenes coupled with beautiful and historic homes and neighborhoods.
Believing that diversity contributes to academic excellence and to rich and rewarding communities, Fontbonne University is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff and student body. Candidates from historically under-represented groups, whose work furthers our diversity and inclusion efforts and who bring to campus varied life experiences, perspectives and backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.
Open your mind. Follow your heart. Take the leap. Challenging, welcoming, affordable. Fontbonne will prepare you for an engaged and rewarding life, no matter how you’re called to serve.
Our Mission & Vision:
Fontbonne University, a Catholic institution founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, provides transformative education committed to the common good, inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically and act ethically to create a more just world.
Benefits
Excellent Benefit Package offered including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life/AD&D and Disability insurance, and 403(b) Retirement Plan.