Rockhurst Sentinel

Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: News

With instructions from his provincial in St. Louis and guidance from God above Fr. Michael P. Dowling, S.J., set about establishing a Jesuit college in the growing city of Kansas City. The year was 1910 and the Jesuits had been performing ministerial work in Kansas City for some time but were now ready to take on the task that had brought them here.

Fr. Dowling was no stranger to higher education; before he brought his energies to Kansas City he had served as President of both Creighton University and Detroit University. He was widely renowned for his oratorical and administrative abilities and it was thought there no better man to lead the effort in founding a new school. After receiving permission from then Bishop John J. Hogan, Dowling began work on what would come to be known as Rockhurst College, and ultimately, Rockhurst University.

The early years at Rockhurst were marked by frustration and despair. After securing a site for his school, Fr. Dowling ran into a multitude of problems. A misunderstanding between the Jesuits and Bishop Hogan had caused the Jesuits to take on far more debt than they had initially planned. When this was realized construction on the college building ground to a halt. Out of money and out of luck, it looked as though the Jesuits would have to abandon their efforts in Kansas City.

As the months went by people began referring to the half-finished building on Troost as the "Jesuit's folly of the southern skyline." Needing a miracle, Fr. Dowling received one in the form of Mr. Lee M. Sedgwick. Sedgwick was a wealthy businessman who had earned his fortune selling railroad ties to the Burlington Route. He was educated by the Jesuits at St. Mary's College who had a profound effect on him. Wanting to repay the Society, Sedgwick pledged his monetary support to the fledgling Rockhurst College.

And so it was in 1914 that the Jesuits at Rockhurst were finally able to open their doors to the boys of Kansas City. Fr. Patrick F. Harvey, S.J., the first member of the faculty, arrived in July to canvass the city for prospective students. With an opening day of September 15 it is a wonder he was able to recruit forty two boys.

The boys were enrolled in either of the first two years of high school and charged with learning Latin, Algebra, History, and English. They also had a choice of electives such as Bookkeeping, French, Spanish, Trig, and Chemistry.

As the years passed Rockhurst expanded its numbers, reaching an enrollment of nearly 200 by 1920. Not only was the school growing in size, but also in notoriety. Rockhurst was known for its excellent academics but was also able to field formidable teams in baseball, basketball, tennis and football. A look at the 1926-1927 seasons will reveal Missouri State Conference championships in baseball, basketball, and tennis while the football team finished with a record of five wins and two losses.

The athletic prowess that these early students possessed has not been lost through the generations. Rockhurst continues to excel in athletics, although our football team hasn't won a game in a while. And just as it did back then, Rockhurst continues to offer its students a well rounded education grounded in the liberal arts tradition. I have to believe that if Fr. Dowling were alive today he would be more than glad at the progress Rockhurst has made. Over the past one hundred years Rockhurst has evolved from a one building schoolhouse in the middle of farmland to become a prominent educational institution in the center of a thriving city.

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