Editing Webster University (section)

==History==
The college was founded in 1915 by the [[Sisters of Loretto]] as '''Loretto College''', a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] women's college, one of the first west of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Commemorating the centennial of Webster University|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:S.RES.465:|journal=Bill Text: 113th Congress (2013–2014): S.RES.465.ATS|date=June 3, 2014|access-date=September 3, 2014|archive-date=January 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107154142/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:S.RES.465:|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of the early founders was [[Mother Praxedes Carty]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Barbara|date=17 April 2012|title=Honoring the Sisters of Loretto|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2012-04-17/pdf/CREC-2012-04-17-pt1-PgE545.pdf|journal=Congressional Record|pages=E545}}</ref> Its name was changed to '''Webster College''', after Senator Daniel Webster, in 1924.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.webster.edu/centennial/timeline/ |title=Webster University History Timeline |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=Webster University |access-date=February 24, 2020}}</ref> The first male students were admitted in 1962.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Webster University Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/webster-university/|journal=Forbes|access-date=February 17, 2016}}</ref> The [[Religious sister|sisters]] transferred ownership of the college to a [[laity|lay]] Board of Directors in 1967; it was the first Catholic college in the United States to be totally under lay control.<ref name=WU>{{cite web|url=http://webster.edu/about/ |title=About Webster |publisher=Webster University |access-date=November 19, 2011}}</ref> In 1983, Webster College's name was changed to Webster University.<ref name="timeline" />

Webster was involved in the early [[racial integration]] battles in St. Louis. During the early 1940s, many local [[priesthood (Catholic Church)|priests]], especially the [[Jesuits]], challenged the [[Racial segregation|segregationist]] policies at the city's Catholic colleges and [[parochial school]]s. The St. Louis chapter of the Midwest Clergy Conference on Negro Welfare arranged in 1943 for Webster College to admit a black female student, Mary Aloyse Foster, which would make it the city's first Catholic college to integrate.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Webster University 100 years|url=http://www.studymode.com/essays/Webster-University-100-Years-51147815.html|journal=Webster University 100 Years|date = April 2014}}</ref> However, in 1943 Archbishop [[John J. Glennon]] blocked that student's enrollment by speaking privately with the [[Kentucky]]-based [[Superior General]] of the Sisters of Loretto.<ref>Donald J. Kemper, "Catholic Integration in St. Louis, 1935–1947", ''Missouri Historical Review'', October 1978, pp. 1–13.</ref> The ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]'', an African-American newspaper with national circulation, discovered Glennon's actions and ran a front-page feature on the Webster incident in February 1944.<ref>Ted LeBerthon, "Why Jim Crow Won at Webster College," ''Pittsburgh Courier'', February 5, 1944, p. 13.</ref> The negative publicity toward Glennon's segregationist policies led [[Saint Louis University]] to begin admitting African American students in summer 1944.<ref>"Pressure Grows to Have Catholic College Doors Open to Negroes," ''Pittsburgh Courier'', February 19, 1944, p. 1; "St. Louis U. Lifts Color Bar: Accepts Five Negroes for Summer Session", ''Pittsburgh Courier'', May 6, 1944, p. 1.</ref> In the fall of 1945, Webster College responded to pressure by admitting Irene Thomas, a Catholic African-American woman from St. Louis, as a music major.<ref>"Missouri College Admits Race Girl," ''Pittsburgh Courier'', October 13, 1945, p. 1.</ref>

In the 1960s, the school dropped its Catholic affiliation following the issuance of the [[Land O'Lakes Statement]]. The school's then-president, [[Jacqueline Grennan Wexler|Jacqueline Grennan]], renounced her religious vows and continued as head of what had effectively become a secular institution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Taking the Catholic Out of Catholic Universities |url=https://www.city-journal.org/article/taking-the-catholic-out-of-catholic-universities#:~:text=Manhattanville%20College%20of%20the%20Sacred,being%20subject%20to%20religious%20obedience.%E2%80%9D |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=City Journal |language=en}}</ref>