Notre Dame of Maryland's & the SSND's History

After Mission training today for Notre Dame staff, I felt the urgent desire to spread the news and history of our institution.

Pictured directly below are the 6 graduates (one was a transfer) of our first graduating class in 1899.

What I love so much about Notre Dame is the tradition and rich history students, faculty, and staff are a part of and continue to produce.

Thanks to Sr. Theresa Gerhardinger, who traveled with a few other School Sisters of Notre Dame, from Germany to the United States in 1847, we are here 117 years later.

After arriving in Baltimore, Maryland in August of 1847, Mother Theresa Gerhardinger began to found schools for poor women & children in Baltimore.  Once they had begun educating young girls at an elementary and secondary level, they saw the need to open a collegiate institute.

On September 9, 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland launched its four-year baccalaureate program and celebrated its first graduation on June 14, 1899.  116 years later, College of Notre Dame of Maryland became Notre Dame of Maryland University on September 9, 2011.

What is truly inspiring is the SSND's desire to "Trust and Dare" as they became the first Catholic college to award a baccalaureate's degree to women.  For you history buffs, keep in mind that women were not even allowed to vote until 1920!!

The School Sisters of Notre Dame's education motto is Virtus et Scientia, which means "Virtue & Knowledge."  These amazing women have been educating women to transform the world since their foundation in 1833.

Pictured below are the School Sisters who add so much to our community each and every day.  They continue to advocate for truth, goodness, and beauty in all they touch.