The University of Portland was founded in September 1901 by Portland Archbishop Alexander Christie, who had purchased property atop Waud’s Bluff with financial assistance from the Congregation of Holy Cross in Sound Bend, Indiana. Archbishop Christie named the school “Columbia University” after the mighty river that flowed nearby, and when it opened its doors, it was staffed with priests from the archdiocese.

Columbia University achieved junior college status in 1922, and in 1925 the College of Arts and Sciences was founded. Four years later the first bachelor’s degrees were awarded to a class of seven men. In the 1930s, the University’s name was changed to the University of Portland, the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing became part of the University as the College of Nursing, and the School of Business were created.