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University of San Diego

Celebrating 60 years of historic achievements

University of San Diego

In 2009, USD will commemorate its 60th Anniversary. The year-long celebration, which will include events throughout the nation and around the world, will hail the achievements of the past and herald the vision for the future.

“The historic pace of USD has been anything but leisurely,” President Mary E. Lyons says. “What has been accomplished since the school was founded is nothing less than amazing.”

Today, USD is recognized for academic merits on both a national and international level. Currently ranked in the top 20 of U.S. News & World Report’s “Up-and-Coming Schools,” USD is also ranked ninth among the top 20 national colleges and universities by U.S. News & World Report for making “promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities.” The School of Business Administration is ranked 47th on BusinessWeek’s top 50 undergraduate business programs in the United States, putting it among the top five collegiate business programs on the West Coast. The engineering program ranked 25th in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. The School of Leadership and Education Sciences made the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of top 100 graduate programs in the United States. The Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science is ranked in the top 7 percent of graduate schools in the United States.

The School of Law ranks 82nd in the list of U.S. News & World Report’s top 100 law schools in the country. The Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies is among the few places in the world where students can earn a degree in peacemaking. In the College of Arts and Sciences, the Master of Fine Arts program is among the top 10 in the nation and undergraduate science students are immersed in research, which other institutions only offer at the graduate level.

While the University of San Diego has been a leader academically, it’s also been successful on the athletic front. In 2008, the Toreros won the West Coast Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup, which goes to the conference’s top-performing school. The baseball program finished with a 44-17 record and was ranked No. 17 in the country in the NCAA Division I Poll. Women’s volleyball, men’s golf and baseball won WCC regular-season titles at USD in the 2007-08 season, but a strong year from other sports played a role in this achievement. The men’s and women’s soccer teams and the women’s rowing team finished second in the WCC standings. Men’s and women’s tennis each finished third in the regular season. The men’s basketball team won the WCC Championship Tournament and went on to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated No. 4 seed Connecticut, 70-69.

This anniversary celebration also recognizes the tremendous opportunities the future holds. The university’s “2020 Plan” outlines a vision that promotes the continued growth of the university in four ways. By promoting a spirit of collaboration, a stronger connection to the rest of the world, the importance of social justice and environmental sustainability, and a continued focus on leadership and innovation, USD moves into the new millennium with a clear focus on the promise of the future.