[1] Ursuline Academy was founded in 1857 by Mother Mary Joseph Wolfe, with its location at 5th and Mason streets.

[citation needed] The Ursuline Sisters established SCI in 1929 on the property owned by the academy.

On January 15, 2003, Benedictine University, located in Lisle, Illinois, entered into a partnership with SCI.

[2] On May 11, 2007, the SCI-BU (Benedictine University) Board of Directors made the decision to close Ursuline at the end of the 2006–2007 school year.

[3] The buildings were put on an historic preservation list, Landmarks Illinois, due to the efforts of alumna Sarah Jones in 2008.