Our History and Heritage

collage of past students behind Chamberlain 1889 - 2017 banner

Chamberlain University has a 130-year history of preparing extraordinary healthcare professionals.

Our roots go back to the Deaconess tradition of 19th-century Europe. Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, studied at a Deaconess facility in Germany and later applied the concepts she learned to her nursing practice. In 1889, an evangelical pastor in St. Louis, Missouri, proposed establishing healthcare services based on the Deaconess model to address the needs of the local community. Those services evolved into the Deaconess School of Nursing and, later, Deaconess College of Nursing.

In March 2005, Adtalem Global Education, Inc. (NYSE: ATGE; member S&P MidCap 400 Index), a global education provider headquartered in the United States, acquired Deaconess. A term of the acquisition agreement required Adtalem to change the name of the school. The chosen name, Chamberlain, is derived from the Middle English word "chaumberlein," which means "chief steward" – in recognition of the critical role of the nurse as the central steward and coordinator of patient care. The purpose of Adtalem Global Education, Chamberlain’s parent organization, is to empower students to achieve their goals, find success and make inspiring contributions to the global community. For more information please visit www.adtalem.com.

Today, with a College of Nursing and a College of Health Professions, a growing network of campuses, and robust online offerings, Chamberlain University continues to raise the standard of nursing and healthcare education and advance healthcare outcomes in communities across the country and around the world.