The First Students

The outlook was not promising for the Jesuits on that fall day in 1855. On October 15, they opened the doors for the first time on their experiment in education in San Francisco: Saint Ignatius Academy. Three students showed up for class, including Richard McCabe, who later became a ?well-known professional man of San Francisco,? and two others whose names are unknown. Despite that disappointing start to what eventually became the University of San Francisco, enrollment gradually grew to approximately 23 students by the end of the first academic year, and to 65 students by 1858, the year before our institution became Saint Ignatius College.

In 1861, a three-story brick building was constructed on Market Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets and adjacent to the original wooden church and school, to accommodate a further increase in enrollment to 140 students. Among those 140 students was John Cunningham, the first native San Franciscan to become a Jesuit. In 1861, most students at Saint Ignatius College were under eighteen years of age. Indeed, John Cunningham was only six years old when he started at the school. Years later, Fr. Cunningham wrote about his first day at school: ?Ushered into the room, my awe-stricken eyes beheld my future pedagogue, Mr. John Egan, who presided over the educational development of some 30 urchins, ranging from five years of age to thirteen or fourteen. My name was registered; I was assigned a seat; I was kissed goodbye by my mother, who warned me not to eat in class and to be home early for dinner?I recall that in June, 1861, St. Ignatius College held its closing exercises in the open, at the rear of the church. The year following, we had a wet winter and our classes were held in the basement of the church, the floors of which had to be raised by planking that we boys might go dryshod to our classrooms.?

By 1863, there were 474 students enrolled in all divisions of the institution, although the majority of these were not college-age students. During the early years of our institution, a sizable percentage of students were enrolled in elementary classes, corresponding to the present fourth, fifth, and sixth grades; preparatory classes, corresponding to the modern seventh and eighth grades; and grammar (college preparatory) classes, corresponding to the present four years of high school. The elementary school division was eliminated in 1897, the last eighth grade class was dropped in 1918, and the final separation of the high school division from the college division was made in 1959, when St. Ignatius High School became completely independent from the University of San Francisco. Today, both institutions continue to thrive. As of October 15, 2001 (our 146th anniversary), there were 8,087 students enrolled at USF. Our institution’s enrollment has grown somewhat since those first three students walked through the doorway in 1855.



Bibliographic note: The work of Joseph Riordan, S.J., who wrote The First Half Century: St. Ignatius Church and College, has been indispensable in describing the first years of our institution. Also useful has been Jesuits by the Golden Gate: The Society of Jesus in San Francisco, 1849–1969 by John McGloin. S.J. For current enrollment data at USF, I can always count on Fred Baldwin, database manager in Academic Services, to supply me the information I need in a timely fashion.