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A Look Back

The newly constructed science hall was dedicated in 1950 by Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. The three-story building offered classrooms and laboratories for students in chemistry, biology, and physics. It also housed a unit for both student and faculty scientific research that was affiliated with the Institutum Divi Thomae of Cincinnati, Ohio, directed by Dr. George Sperti.

In the 1940s, Incarnate Word took a leadership role in Texas and the Southwest by transforming the study of nursing from a hospital-based diploma program to an accredited college degree.  In 1942, the nursing program was the first in Texas to receive full accreditation from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Nursing.  Today, a majority of the people in Bexar County who earn either a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing are UIW graduates.

In 1950 Incarnate Word High School moved to its present location at US Highway 281 and Hildebrand Avenue, and in that same year a co-educational graduate division was established that offered master’s degrees in several areas, notably education and science.

By 1970 the College had become co-educational in all programs and for the first time offered on-campus housing for men.