Inspired by its Catholic and Lasallian heritage, Lewis University offers a values-centered curriculum, rich in the Mission values of knowledge, fidelity, wisdom, and justice and guided by the spirit of association which fosters community in all teaching, learning and service. Lewis provides nearly 7,000 students with programs for a liberal and professional education based on the interaction of knowledge and fidelity in the search for truth.
Lewis is a dynamic, coeducational, comprehensive, Catholic university with a richly diverse student body, including traditional-aged students and adults of all ages.
Founded in 1932 (read an abbreviated timeline) under the direction of the Chicago Archdiocese and Bishop Bernard J. Sheil, Lewis began as the Holy Name Technical School, a school for boys which opened with 15 students. The school was established on a campus of 170 acres of farmland that was donated to the archdiocese by Michael and Frances Fitzpatrick of Lockport. From the beginning, Frank J. Lewis, the noted Chicago philanthropist and industrialist, took an active interest in the school. He assisted with the funding of various buildings that became the nucleus of the University.