Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. History Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institution west of the Alleghenies. Nazareth Academy was founded in 1814 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and was located in Nelson County near Bardstown, Kentucky. Spalding was named after Mother Catherine Spalding, foundress of the Sisters. In 1829 the legislature of the Commonwealth of Kentucky granted the school a charter allowing the school to confer degrees. In 1920, the Sisters opened Nazareth College in Louisville, Kentucky's first, four-year, Catholic college for women. The Louisville and Nazareth campuses merged. In 1969, the school was renamed Spalding College and in 1971 all instructional activity was moved to the Louisville campus. In 1973, Spalding College became co-educational and an independent college in the Catholic tradition open to students of all faiths and backgrounds. In 1984, Spalding College became Spalding University. Academics Spalding offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and education. Location and facilities Located in downtown Louisville, Spalding University's urban campus is located between the main business/government district of the city and Old Louisville in an area referred to as the South of Broadway (SoBro) neighborhood. 851 mansion When Spalding University, originally called Nazareth College, opened in 1920, its sole building was the 1871 structure known as the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin House. This Italianate building was designed and built by architect Henry Whitestone for the family of Joseph T. Tompkins, a wealthy dry-goods merchant and importer. Later, the Buchanans and Rankins lived here. George C. Buchanan was a distiller who aspired to make the mansion one of the greatest in Louisville, and had it redecorated in 1880. Although the facade of this Italianate structure has disappeared, the north and south sides of the original building are visible; on the north are three deeply projecting bay windows, and on the south, a two-story loggia. In 1918 the residence was vacant, so the Sisters of Nazareth purchased it for $75,000 as the site of the college they planned to open in Louisville. The fact that this house is one door north of Presentation Academy, also operated by the Sisters, was fortunate. As successive owners occupied the mansion, they added such treasures as a hand-tooled leather ceiling from Florence for one parlor,