New Book Releases

On October 4, 1858, the Sisters of Saint Joseph founded Mount Saint Joseph Academy for Young Ladies on the grounds of what is now Chestnut Hill College. The Mount, as it is fondly known by generations of graduates, is the oldest continuously operating Catholic girls' school in the Philadelphia area. Rooted in the sisters' maxim "on the education of women largely depends the future of society," the school continues to grow while maintaining its core Catholic mission. Mount Saint Joseph Academy follows the school from its boarding-school days at the Monticello mansion in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, to its modern 78-acre campus in Flourtown, Montgomery County, where girls in grades 9 through 12 receive a private, college-preparatory education in the tradition of excellence. On the momentous occasion of the school's 150th anniversary, Mount Saint Joseph Academy is a tribute to the Mount's rich history of service, academics, athletics, and the arts.

William Penn envisioned a society dedicated to religious toleration, participatory government, and liberty. Central to this Holy Experiment was his belief that all children deserved a moral education. In 1689, Penn established a Friends Public School in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Over the years, many Quakers have been similarly inspired, and today there are 81 member schools in the Friends Council on Education operating in 22 states. This book includes images from the 10 Friends schools founded in or near Philadelphia before the 20th century: Abington Friends School, Frankford Friends School, Friends' Central School, Friends Select School, George School, Germantown Friends School, Greene Street Friends School, Plymouth Meeting Friends School, William Penn Charter School, and Westtown School. Philadelphia Friends Schools tells the photographic story of an educational philosophy rooted in three centuries of faith and practice.

In 1933, Bishop John Mark Gannon founded Cathedral College to give the boys of Erie, Pennsylvania, a chance for a better life. Initially a branch campus of Villa Maria College, which it would merge with 56 years later, the community college moved from a dilapidated building next to the bishop's residence in 1941 to one of the most elegant structures in downtown Erie, the Strong Mansion. The school was then renamed the Gannon School of Arts and Science. Three years later, the school began awarding bachelor's degrees and became Gannon College. Today, Gannon University is a highly ranked liberal arts university that offers nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate degrees to students from around the world. Gannon has been a prominent feature in downtown Erie for more than 80 years, and in 2015, another city became a part of Gannon history with the opening of the university's first branch campus in Ruskin, Florida.

During the mid-1800s, a small band of farsighted men convened to form a college for "the mental and moral training of youth." They also pledged that "no person will be refused admission on account of Color, Caste or Sex." This was a bold move on the eve of the Civil War. As Presbyterian Church representatives, the founders selected the name Westminster Collegiate Institute. In 1852, Westminster became the first integrated and unrestricted coeducational college in the country. Today it is one of America's most admired small liberal arts colleges. Westminster remains on the cutting edge of teaching and learning while valuing the interaction between faculty and students. The New Wilmington campus has been home to successive generations of scholars who have gone on to excel in
a wide range of endeavors. Westminster College serves as a tribute to the school's past and present students, preserving the images of their special
memories and favorite places.