Educator and entrepreneur F.C. Woodbury established the institution in 1884 as a response to the needs of Los Angeles’ growing business community. Woodbury College (as it was first known) quickly built a reputation for degrees leading to the professions.
From the start, Woodbury believed in gender equity, as its first class was made up nearly equally of males and females. This commitment to diversity was very unusual at the time and remains one of our core principles.
The college is chartered by the State of California to grant undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Woodbury becomes a college of business administration and design establishing the division of professional arts, and instruction begins in several design fields closely tied to business: commercial art, cartooning, interior decorating and fashion illustration.
Under the presidency of R.H. “Pop” Whitten, Woodbury College moves into a new administration and classroom facility at 1027 Wilshire Blvd. in downtown Los Angeles.
The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Woodbury changes its charter and adds the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program
Woodbury becomes a non-profit institute of higher learning.
Woodbury College becomes Woodbury University under the presidency of Dora Kirby. This begins a transformation into the institution Woodbury is today.
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.
Woodbury organizes its undergraduate and graduate programs into three schools: the School of Architecture and Design, the School of Business and Management, and the School of Arts and Sciences. Accreditation is received from the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB), following Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) approval three years prior.
The architecture program expands to San Diego.