About Chatfield

Mission Statement

Chatfield College is an open-enrollment Catholic college, rooted in the legacy of the Ursuline Sisters, believing in the potential of every person and accepting of people of all faiths. We offer a small collaborative learning environment with a deep sense of community, and personalized support. Chatfield meets students where they are and empowers individuals to better themselves, their employability, and their futures.

History of Chatfield

In 1845, Julia Chatfield, along with ten Ursuline sisters from Boulogne-Sur Mer and Beaulieu, France, traveled to St. Martin, OH, to establish an all-girls boarding school. Eventually, the Ursuline Teacher Training Institute was created to educate the nuns who would become teachers and would become Chatfield College. In 1971, Chatfield College became an accredited liberal arts college for both men and women.

Today, Chatfield College serves a broad community of learners at two campuses, located in the historic St. Martin campus near Fayetteville, OH, and the Cincinnati campus located in the revitalized urban community of Over-the-Rhine. Chatfield also offers the Associate of Arts 100 percent online. Chatfield College is the only private, non-profit, Catholic junior college in Ohio.

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Ursuline Values

What does Ursuline mean? Ursulines are members of a Catholic teaching order of nuns. The order was founded in 1535 in Brescia, Italy by St. Angela Merici. St. Angela named the order Ursuline in honor of St. Ursula, a Catholic martyr. In keeping with our founders' tradition, Chatfield College infuses the following values into the college experience:

  • Academic excellence

  • Service

  • Spirituality

  • Community

  • Social justice

  • Openness to change

  • Leadership

  • Academic excellence

  • Service

  • Spirituality

  • Community

ursuline values

  • Social justice

  • Openness to change

  • Leadership

Timeline

1845

Archbishop Purcell invited 11 Ursulines under the direction of Mother Julia Chatfield to come from Boulogne-Sur Mer and Beaulieu, France, to St. Martin in Brown County, Ohio, to establish a school for girls.

1958

Ursulines of Brown County open the Ursuline Teacher Training Institute in St. Martin to provide quality liberal arts education to sisters joining the Ursuline Order.

1971

Ursuline Teacher Training Institute was renamed Chatfield College to honor Sr. Julia, opened to the public, and was accredited under the Higher Learning Commission.

1989

Cincinnati campus moved from Lower Price Hill to North Fairmont.

2008

Cincinnati campus moved to Mercy/St. John near Findlay Market.

2015

Chatfield College completes construction on its new campus in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, allowing more students access to its quality associate degree.

2020

Chatfield College added two new degree programs, the Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education and the Associate of Applied Science in Human Services.

Today

For over 50 years, Chatfield College continues its mission to provide personal assistance to students who want to improve their lives, families, and communities through education.