City: St. Louis, MO

Category: Education

Address: 221 North Grand Boulevard

Description: Saint Louis University (SLU), founded in 1818, was the first institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi. The university was the first to have a graduate school in the “new” western region and the first to begin schools of philosophy, divinity, medicine, law, and business. It was also the first Catholic university in the nation to have any of these constituent schools and specialized faculties. Today SLU educates 12,700-plus students and offers more than 85 undergraduate and 50 graduate programs in arts and sciences, business, engineering and aviation, nursing, public service, social service, and allied health professions. The school is known as a hotbed of collegiate soccer talent, with numerous pro players coming out of the Billikens’ program. In fact, soccer is such a tradition at SLU that the school doesn’t even have a football team. SLU is a NCAA Division I school and a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The school opened a new $80 million on-campus arena in 2008. Chaifetz Arena, the new home of the Billikens’ basketball teams, also hosts a variety of live events such as concerts, graduation ceremonies, and other performances. The SLU School of Medicine—one of the 12 schools that SLU comprises—was established in 1836. The Frost Campus at Grand and Lindell Boulevards in midtown St. Louis has been the site of the central administration since 1888. The university’s College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate School, School of Law, College of Philosophy and Letters, John Cook School of Business, School of Social Service, and School for Professional Studies are all located on the Frost Campus, along with the Parks College of Engineering and Aviation. Parks College was founded in 1928 as the first federally approved air college and has been a part of SLU since 1946. The Health Sciences Center, located about a mile from the main campus, is home to the university’s schools of medicine, nursing, allied health professions, and public health.