Edgecliff College

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Edgecliff College

Edgecliff College was a private Catholic women’s college in Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened in 1935 as Our Lady of Cincinnati College, founded by the Sisters of Mercy to replace the nearby College of Sacred Heart. The campus sat on a hill in the Walnut Hills area, offering views of the Ohio River.

Accredited in 1955 by the Higher Learning Commission, Edgecliff was a liberal arts college with programs in music, art, social work, and nursing. In 1969 the college changed its name to Edgecliff College, and in 1970 it began admitting men, becoming fully coeducational.

In the late 1970s, Edgecliff formed an articulation agreement with the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science so CCMS students could earn bachelor’s degrees at Edgecliff after their diplomas and associate degrees. By 1979 CCMS had moved onto Edgecliff’s campus, though the two schools remained separate.

Facing financial difficulties, Edgecliff merged with Xavier University on July 1, 1980. The last Edgecliff class graduated in 1984. Xavier kept Edgecliff records, and Edgecliff Hall was renamed to honor the college and later housed Xavier’s Department of Music and Theatre.

In 1986, Xavier closed the Edgecliff campus and sold the site to developers. One 23-story condo tower was built; the hillside was given to the Cincinnati Hillside Trust. The University of Cincinnati later bought the rest of the land and buildings, renovated them, and moved its College of Applied Science there in 1988.

Several Edgecliff buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, including Edgecliff House, which was listed in 1980 but has since been demolished.