Located on the edge of the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods on the far north side of the city, Mundelein College was founded and administered by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

At the close of the college's first academic year, on June 3, 1931, traffic was rerouted, the uniformed bands of St. Mary's High School and Immaculata High School played on the front steps, and the Knights of St. Gregory escorted Cardinal George Mundelein to Mundelein College's official dedication ceremony.

In the 1940s the Mundelein College Skyscraper boasted one of the country's highest observatories containing a telescope and the longest Foucault pendulum in existence at the time.

The Verse Speaking Choir worked under contract with NBC Radio and its participants included Mercedes McCambridge (1937), Academy Award and Golden Globe winner.

In addition to planting a victory garden near the library, Mundelein students held a jeep drive which raised funds equivalent to the cost of two United States Army Jeeps, held several blood drives, and purchased a war bond with the proceeds from their annual benefit.

[8] Although Mundelein College had amended their articles of incorporation in 1968 to admit men, the education and cultivation of women remained its primary focus.

Mundelein College was not immune to the forces of feminism and in 1977 the seeds of an interdisciplinary women's studies program began to germinate.

[10] In November 1979, César Chávez spoke at Mundelein College during his tour around the country promoting a lettuce workers strike.

Among the dignitaries at the Golden Jubilee Dinner was Mayor Jane Byrne and highlighting the event was the appearance of Mother Teresa, recipient of the 1980 Magnificat Medal.

[11] New programs continued to enhance Mundelein's academic offerings, including courses in food management, interior architecture and design, communications, computer science, and peace studies.

Vertical lines of Indiana limestone created a visual illusion making the college appear to soar higher than its actual 198 feet (60 m).

[13] A photo of the sculptures is included in the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS), of the Renwick Gallery of American Art.

[4] Fisher studied drafting at a Minneapolis technical school, served in a U.S. Army Intelligence unit which produced maps during World War I, studied briefly at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, worked as a draftsman at lumberyards in Minnesota and South Dakota, and registered as a Minnesota architect in 1922.

[15] Originally intended to be a self-contained educational facility, the interior contained classrooms, laboratories, art and music studios, a library, an auditorium, a chapel, a cafeteria, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, reception areas and meeting rooms, and seven floors of living quarters for the BVM staff.

[18] Starting in 2005, the Skyscraper Building went through an almost 10 year renovation process modernizing the facility while retaining much of its original deco architectural beauty.

It currently houses the specialized facilities of the Fine and Performing Arts Department of Loyola, and now features a new café, green roof and modern thrust stage, multimedia classrooms, offices, galleries, and event spaces in addition to being the largest academic classroom building on Loyola's Lakeshore Campus.

Stocked mainly with donated books, the entire initial library collection was cataloged and shelved in only thirty days.

[22][better source needed] The crowning jewel in the fast-paced growth of the campus during the 1960s, the Learning Resource Center, built in 1967, became Mundelein College's new library.

The ideals and values of the BVM sisters continue through the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, established by Loyola University Chicago.