for then-Bishop of Erie, John Mark Gannon, the driving force behind its opening and development. The college became coeducational in 1964 and gained university status in 1979.
The all-girls school Villa Maria College, which was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1925, merged with the university in 1989. Its Villa Maria School of Nursing retains the name of the original institution.
In 2024, the university's board of trustees approved plans to merge the university with Ursuline College. Ursuline will become a part of Gannon as "Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University" with its own academic and athletic programs.
== Academics ==
The university is organized into three main colleges: the College of Engineering and Business, which includes the Dahlkemper School of Business Administration; the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences; and the Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Gannon University No. 260 in National Universities in 2024 and No. …
