Webster University

Webster University is located in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of Saint Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College, and it was one of the first Catholic women's colleges located west of the Mississippi River. The first male students were admitted in 1962. Due to financial difficulties, the Sisters of Loretto transferred the university to a Board of Directors in 1967. The current president of the university is Richard Meyers.

Integration at Webster University

The local chapter of the Midwest Clergy Conference on Negro Welfare attempted to integrate Webster in 1943, but St. Louis Archbishop John J. Glennon blocked the enrollment of a young black woman by speaking directly with the superior of the Sisters of Loreto in Kentucky. The Pittsburgh Courier, a national black newspaper, ran a front-page feature on the Webster incident. After Glennon's death in 1946, the new St. Louis Archbishop, Joseph E. Ritter, moved swiftly to remove barriers to the integration of the city's Catholic educational institutions.

Related Topics:
John J. Glennon - Sisters of Loreto - Kentucky - Pittsburgh Courier - Joseph E. Ritter

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