CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMER ICA, The, an institution for higher education maintained by the Catholic Church in the United States and located at Washington, D. C. The need of a university in which instruction should be given and research conducted in all the departments of knowledge, under Cath olic auspices, was recognized by the bishops assembled in the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore (1866) ; and the establishment of such an institution was resolved upon in the Third Plenary Council (1884). Pope Leo XIII in 1887 approved the project and granted the pontifical charter by the Apostolic Letter ((Magni nobis gaudi? of 7 March 1889. The university was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, and the city of Washington was selected as the site. The first endowment ($300,000) was contributed by Miss Mary Gwendoline Caldwell of Newport, R. I. The Rt. Rev. John J. Keane, then bishop of Richmond, Va., was designated as rector of the university. In November 1889, academic work was inaugurated in the School of the Sacred Sciences. The Schools of Philos ophy and Social Science were opened in 1895 and their departments were subsequently reor ganized in the Schools of Law, Philosophy, Letters and Sciences.
The of the university is embodied in the constitution, which was approved by the Holy See in 1889. It provides that the bishops of the United States shall have plenary authority in all matters pertain ing to organization, instruction or discipline. This authority is exercised by a board of trustees composed of bishops, priests and lay men, who may elect new members and fill vacancies in the board. The chancellor, as the representative of the Holy See, presides at the meetings of the trustees. Subject to the author ity of the trustees, the immediate government of the university is placed in the hands of the recto ,r assisted by the academic senate. The ex officio members of the senate are the rector, the vice-rector, the general secretary, the deans of the faculties and the presidents of university colleges. In addition, each faculty
elects two delegates to serve in the senate for two years.
The senate acting with the rector has com petency in matters pertaining to the methods of instruction, the appointment of associate pro-. festors and examinations for degrees. It pro poses to the board of trustees •such• as May seem .adivantageous for the develop. mint of the university and it recommends to., the chancellor successful candidates for degrees.
The work of each school is in charge of a faculty composed of professors appointed by the board of trustees. The school comprises vari ous departments in which courses are given by professors, associate professors, instructors and occasional lecturers. The faculty elects its officers — dean, vice-dean and and two delegates to the senate. It has a con sultative voice in regard to the appointment or removal of professors, and, subject to the decision of the senate, draws up or revises courses of study, examines candidates for de grees and makes recommendations for the development of the school. The teaching staff for 1916-17 includes 32 priests and 47 laymen.
The revenues of the university are derived from endowments, donations for special pur poses, tuition fees and annual collections taken up in each diocese of the United States. A detailed statement of the receipts and expendi ture is published yearly in the rector's report. In 1916 there were 20 endowed chairs, 4 fellow ships, 37 scholarships and 50 graduate scholar ships, the last named being the foundation of the Knights of Columbus (1914). The terms of award of these endowments for the assist ance of students are published in the 'Year Book' of the university.
The student body includes clerks and lay men, the former representing the diocesan clergy and the religious orders. According to the registration lists for 1916-17, the university enrolled 564 students, 131 clerics, 429 lay.