LHC Class of '84

Teikyo Loretto Heights University (TLHU) is an American university in Denver, Colorado, part of the Teikyo University Group. It opened in 1989 on the campus of the former Loretto Heights College.

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Its campus consists of 19 buildings on a 74-acre site, the highest area in the mile-high city. The Administration Building, the centerpiece of the campus, opened in 1891 and is entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Its prominent bell tower can be seen from miles around, serving as a landmark for many Denver residents.

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As part of the Teikyo-Harvard Program, the university has completed its human anatomy lab, a state-of-the-art facility that will have access to all forms of multimedia technology for faculty and researchers, including a portable wireless camera system, which allows the instructor to project live images onto a large screen, and video monitors for easy viewing by faculty and researchers.

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Teikyo Loretto Heights University has funded a $2.5 million grant toward the start-up expenses of the program. "We are excited to be able to fund a new program initiative that serves multiple members of the UNITE consortium, said Mr. Fred Van Liew, president of the Teikyo Foundation. "Through this grant, we are able to help develop a new program in a new market, while also adding a significant presence to the Teikyo Loretto Heights University campus."

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The Teikyo University (Group) comprises: six foundations; undergraduate and graduate universities; and a number of specialized schools and institutions, including the largest private medical school in Japan, with three teaching hospitals, a school of pharmacology, a law school, and a graduate school of engineering. The group's 50,000 students are spread out among 46 campuses located in Japan, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

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Founded by Mother Pancratia Bonfils, S.L. in 1891, the Sisters of Loretto started a private elementary and secondary Catholic school for girls they called Loretto Heights Academy. Located on one of the highest points in the Denver metropolitan area, the school was very successful. For the much of the last century it was the premier woman's Catholic school in Denver.

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In the early 1900s the school began its transition to a women's college. Then in 1988 it was absorbed by its sister school Regis University in 1988 due to a financial collapse. Alumni are still very active with Regis and the Health Services program at Regis was started at Loretto, and is now one of the most successful programs there.

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The campus remains a college and still retains much of its early charm. It is now a part of the Teikyo Group and known as Teikyo Loretto Heights University. It is focused on international studies. (end article)

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*Musings from an LHC Graduate:

Loretto always was known for their remarkable nursing program. I'm glad to learn that Regis has taken that over appropriately. What this articles fails to mention is that LHC became a co-ed liberal arts college in 1979, and that the Bonfils dance & theatre programs were as renowned as their nursing credentials. Plus, I wonder if Sister Pancratia still haunts Pan Hall? And I hope the Japanese are taking proper care of the little graveyard out back behind Walsh dorm where all the ancient Sisters of Loretto lay in wait--what a cute little graveyard it is. And of course I can't help but wonder if Scottie is still zooming that tractor mower over the expanse of lawn--his wild, unruly hair flying in the wind from under his mammoth headphones....