The University of San Francisco began in 1855 as a one-room schoolhouse
named St. Ignatius Academy. Its founding is interwoven with the
establishment of the Jesuit Order in California, European immigration to
the western United States, and the population growth of California and
San Francisco as a result of the California Gold Rush. For 159 years,
the University of San Francisco has enriched the lives of thousands of
people. The institution has graduated students who went on to become
leaders in government, education, business, journalism, sports, the
sciences, and the legal and medical professions. Among its alumni, the
university counts three San Francisco mayors, a US senator, four
California Supreme Court justices, a California lieutenant governor, two
Pulitzer Prize winners, three Olympic medalists, several professional
athletes, and the former president of Peru.