The Rev. Louis C. Rudolph, S.J. became the 20th President of Santa Clara on July 14, 1935, succeeding the Rev. James J. Lyons, S.J. Prior to his appointment, Father Rudolph was the Dean of Studies at Loyola University, Los Angeles. Born in Monterey, California, he entered the Society of Jesus at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos in 1916. Father Rudolph taught four years at Gonzaga University, Spokane beginning in 1923. He then went on to complete his Theological Studies at the University of St. Louis in 1927, where he was ordained in 1929. Father Rudolph was succeeded as president of Santa Clara on July 31, 1940. He died on June 17, 1984 in Los Angeles, California.

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name. Bibliography: Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010) McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.