In 1844, the sisters opened their first school in Bertrand, Michigan, about six miles from Notre Dame; it was a boarding academy with pre-collegiate grades.

In 1864, Ellen took up temporary residence in South Bend, Indiana, to have her young family educated at the University of Notre Dame and St.

It was taught by Miss Mary Callahan, who had taken a course at a Studebaker plant in Detroit, and John Seibert, the college chauffeur.

In 2023, the board of trustees first agreed to admit transgender female students, later rescinding the decision because many members of the community considered it a "threat to our Catholic identity.

The Angela Athletic Facility houses tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts in a gym area with seating for 2,000.

Mother Angela oversaw the school moving from Bertrand Township, Michigan, to its present location in 1855.

Cushwa-Leighton Library, designed by architect Evans Woollen III, was dedicated in 1982 and is named for Margaret Hall Cushwa and Mary Lou Morris Leighton.

[9] The four-story, 78,000-square-foot (7,200 m2)-square-foot building blends modern and Gothic styles and serves as a key campus landmark.

It features study areas, library stacks at its core, and a decorative tower housing offices and meeting rooms.

In February 2005, the Choir appeared before the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Los Angeles, performing in the Wilshire Christian Church and the new Walt Disney Concert Hall.

They have appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall in 1999 and 2001, and returned there in November 2005 to perform music by Gwyneth Walker for women's voices and orchestra.

The college, a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III school, and a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, sponsors eight varsity teams: tennis, volleyball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, golf, softball, and cross country.

Indoor facilities include basketball/volleyball, and a fitness center with treadmills, stairmasters, spin bikes, and Cybex weight machines.