Avila University was founded (as St. Teresa's College) by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1916. This two-year school was the first college for women in the Kansas City area. In 1940 it became a four year institution (the College of St. Teresa) and in 1963 it opened on a new campus in south Kansas City under the name of Avila College. In 1969 Avila admitted its first full-time male students, and in 1978, the college began offering graduate programs in business, education and psychology. Avila College became Avila University in July, 2002
Important Catholic Resources at the Martha Smith Archives and Research Center
Women Religious Special Collections
To access this collection, click on the link directly above, then on the next page scroll down until you see the link for "Women Religious Special Collections."
Begun in the fall of 1997, these collections are unique as the first college/university Special Collection focused entirely on the experience of Catholic sisters and nuns. Intended as a repository for out-of-print and contemporary books, manuscripts, pamphlets, photographs, ephemera and other materials by, for and about American sisters, the Women Religious Special Collections were created to provide researchers with access to these materials, which relate to the communities and activities of sisters and nuns in the United States.
U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph Digital Archive
Materials in this collection were selected by the Federation leadership for their historical value to the organization. They were digitized from the wider Federation organizational records held by our archives.
Publications from the Avila University Archives
These publications were selected for digitization as a part of our centennial celebration in 2016. They help to tell the history of Avila University, from its foundation in 1916 to 2015.
Photographs from the Avila University Archives
Our Flickr site contains samples from our digitized photograph collection, which includes nearly 400 images of class composites, athletics, theatrical performances, student life and campus views.