Woodbury University, originally Woodbury College, was founded in 1884 by Francis
Chute Woodbury in response to the needs of Los Angeles’ growing business community. In
1974, Woodbury starts becoming the institution we know today when it is renamed Woodbury
University under the presidency of Dora Kirby. In 1985, Woodbury University acquires a 22-
acre campus in northern Los Angeles straddling the boundary with Burbank. It is the former
home of one of the nation’s oldest convents, Villa Cabrini Academy. The university builds new
classrooms and administration buildings over the next two years, prior to moving to the location
in 1987.
In 1906 Mother Cabrini bought 120 acres of Burbank land dotted with olive trees and
grape vines. The original Burbank campus library building, erected in 1950, was the chapel for
the Villa Cabrini Academy, a school for girls founded by Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini.
Woodbury University renovated the former chapel to house the library.
This tour provides insight into the intersection of the lives and legacies of two
individuals. Their lives are the reason for the institution we have today.
