La Roche University is a private Catholic university in McCandless, Pennsylvania, United States, a North Hills suburb of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence, it sits on an campus within the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
History
thumb|Stephanie Amelia Starkenfels de la Roche, the first mother superior of the Sisters of Divine Providence
La Roche University was founded in 1963 as "La Roche College" by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a private college for religious sisters. It was named in honor of Stephanie Amelia la Roche von Starkenfels, the first Mother Superior of the Sisters of Divine Providence. The first president of the university was Sister Annunciata Sohl, who served until 1968. The college had begun to admit its first lay students by 1965. It continued to grow, and two years later, La Roche expanded beyond its leased space to construct the first building, the John J. Wright Library.
La Roche encountered financial difficulties soon after its founding. Although closing the college was considered, de la Salle Mahler, president from 1969 to 1975, carried on. The board amended its charter in 1970 to establish La Roche as an independent, coeducational Catholic institution, while also diversifying course offerings through an affiliation with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. This partnership made available several new areas of study, including graphic and interior design, which count among the university's strongest programs today.