Biography

Patrick A. Donohoe, S.J., served as Santa Clara’s twenty-fourth President from 1958 to 1968. The time of Donohoe was a time of great change to the Santa Clara community. Donohoe was the first SCU president to hold a doctoral degree, which he received in 1950 from St. Louis University. One of Donohoe’s priorities was to push university enrollment upward; he felt that the current faculty-to-student ratio of one-to-seven was unsustainable. During his presidency, the student body changed drastically, and an initial population of 1,500 all-male students increased to a total of 5,000 students, both male and female. Women were admitted to undergraduate programs in the fall of 1961. President Donohoe strived to find new ways to fund the ever-growing university, such as annual increases in tuition and expanding the development office to seek funds from sources other than alumni. A Board of Regents was created in1959 to help guide development. Increasing enrollment also meant increasing construction--by 1966, eight new residence halls were constructed, which allowed for a resident student population of 2000. The Graham Residence Center, the first building that provided housing for women, was dedicated in 1963. Football resumed in 1959, and the Buck Shaw Athletic Stadium was built. The Orradre Library opened in 1964 to replace the old Varsi Library. Major changes were also made to academics. The Santa Clara Plan, unveiled in 1964, consisted of three eleven-week academic terms, with students allowed to take up to four classes. The purpose of this plan was to allow students to concentrate deeply their subjects. By 1968, students were only required to take three courses in Philosophy; this requirement, once deemed necessary in a Santa Clara education, ended. By 1970, students were only required to take three courses in Religious Studies in order to meet graduation requirements. President Donohoe also made many changes to the organization of the university and its role within the Jesuit community. In 1967, he announced that lay persons could join the Board of Regents, and in February 1968, he legally separated the university from the Jesuit community. He hoped this move would not only remove obstacles to federal funding, but would also relieve the Society of Jesus from any financial burdens the university placed on them. However, as per the bylaws of the university, the president still must be a member of the Society of Jesus. Donohoe’s time as President ended in 1968, when he was named provincial of the California Jesuit Province.

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