As the anchor to the original campus construction, Founders Hall, formerly known as the Liberal Arts Building, has seen several changes since its opening in 1953. Remodeling and renovations of the building’s interior during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s changed some locations for office, classroom and meeting spaces in an effort to modernize the surroundings.
The most dramatic changes to Alverno’s Liberal Arts Building came as a result of the Promise and Power campaign which transformed the building and its spaces into today’s Founders Hall. Renovations were made not just to accommodate a growing student population but also to keep pace with technological advances and changes in how students learn.
The Liberal Arts Building was renamed Founders Hall in September 2014 to reflect Alverno’s roots: an institution of higher learning founded by the School Sisters of Saint Francis. A dedication plaque highlighting the School Sisters journey to Wisconsin and their mission for education can be seen on the first floor “main street” of Founders Hall.
"Founders Hall. Dedicated to Alverno's Founders: The School Sisters of Saint Francis. Alverno College rose from the same roots that produced the School Sisters of Saint Francis, an international order of Catholic women religious who trace their beginnings to nineteenth century Germany. Today, the Order serves people and communities in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and India.In appreciation for what its members have made possible for so many around the world, this building is dedicated to the School Sisters of Saint Francis. The order began in 1873 when two sisters from Schwarzach, Germany traveled to the U.S. seeking opportunities to serve the new land's German immigrants. Sister Alexia and Sister Alfons, the Order's founders, eventually found a home in what is now Campbellsport, Wis., from where they could prepare teachers for the parish schools springing up across the Midwest. The accelerating growth of their order and the demand for its excellent teachers soon led to a search for larger quarters. In 1887 the Order moved to Milwaukee. In a wing of their new home, they opened the St. Joseph Normal School to prepare the Order's members to be teachers. The School Sisters inherited the restless energy and dedication to excellence that brought Sister Alexia and Sister Alfons to the U.S. As the order grew, so did its educational ambitions. Their teachers' college was soon joined by a music conservatory and a nursing school. Side by side the three schools excelled, and in 1946 they merged into Alverno, a four-year liberal arts college. This building, opened in 1953, served as the original home for the new College. In 1968 the School sisters created a lay board of trustees to guide the College to and through its future. The College remains a sponsored ministry of the School Sisters, who serve on its board of trustees, faculty and staff. In these roles, the sisters continue to imbue the College with the spirit of its founders: a zeal for knowledge, a reverence for faith and wisdom, a readiness to serve others, and an abiding belief in the power of education to transform lives, communities and nations."
