We all have a story, and every day creates a new page. Stritch's story is integrated with more than 38,000 others - the stories of our alumni who are positively impacting the communities in which they live, work, serve and lead. 

And it all started with the story of one man from Italy - St. Francis of Assisi.

Our Story
Cardinal Stritch University was founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in 1937 and was chartered by the State of Wisconsin as a fully-accredited, degree granting institution. Today, Stritch is one of the largest Franciscan institutions of higher education in North America. We offer more than 60 exceptional undergraduate and graduate degree programs that help students develop new skills, gain career-related experience and build professional networks. These academic programs prepare students of all ages, faiths, races and socio-economic backgrounds to succeed in the communities where they live, work, serve and lead.

Stritch is known as an excellent choice for studying business, education, liberal arts, leadership, nursing and the sciences. Students with diverse faith and cultural backgrounds embrace and live our core Franciscan values of creating a caring community, showing compassion, reverencing creation and making peace.

A vibrant campus life offers shared and meaningful experiences through a vast array of student clubs and organizations, diverse activities, intercollegiate athletics, performing arts, community service projects and leadership opportunities.

More than 38,000 Stritch alumni are recognized worldwide for their leadership roles in businesses, health care organizations, corporations, educational institutions, entrepreneurial ventures and non-profit organizations. Responsive to the needs of their communities, Stritch graduates are critical thinkers, ethical decision-makers and lifelong learners.

Foundational Franciscan Values

• Creating a Caring Community
• Making Peace
• Showing Compassion
• Reverencing All of Creation

Life and learning at Cardinal Stritch University are rooted in the fundamental mission and the Franciscan values that guide all we do in the classroom, the community and the world.

From Stritch’s founding, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi bestowed the Franciscan charism upon Cardinal Stritch University, shaping the students, faculty and staff throughout the years to model the virtues and values of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi. Both nourished their lives of cooperation and inclusivity with prayer and reflection, focused on the example of Jesus. Representing various faiths and cultural backgrounds, the diverse Stritch community lives out these ideals in their personal and professional lives by embracing four core Franciscan values that carry on the legacies of Saints Francis and Clare.

Each year, the Cardinal Stritch University community chooses one of the four values as a focal point for the entire year, creating intentional efforts to incorporate that value into programming throughout the year.

The Franciscan value for the 2021-2022 academic year is Creating a Caring Community. 

Stritch Mission

Cardinal Stritch University, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi and rooted in the liberal arts tradition, transforms lives and communities through servant leadership, learning and service. The University is guided by the Catholic, Franciscan values of creating a caring community, peacemaking, showing compassion and reverencing creation as we embrace and cultivate the diversity of all of God’s creation.

Transforming Lives Since 1937
Cardinal Stritch University … a national, Franciscan Values-driven university that leverages the strengths of our region's metropolitan assets to prepare learners to succeed and lead in a diverse and ever-changing world. The academic programs we offer are transformational—designed to prepare the whole person for achievement in the communities where they live, work and lead by actively practicing the core values we espouse, and by mastering the substantive professional, experiential and practical skills required to excel in a 21st Century economy.