Notre Dame College was founded in the summer of 1922 on Ansel Road as a women's college under the guidance of Mother M. Cecilia Romen. Later that year, Mother Mary Evarista Harks became NDC's first president (1922–1943). In its early years the college had a faculty population of 9 and a full-time student enrollment of 13 women and 11 novices; in addition 30 students were enrolled in extension courses. On June 15, 1925, NDC conferred its first graduating class in the form of two-year teaching certificates. In the following year, 14 students received their bachelor's degrees and state certificates to teach in Ohio high schools; becoming NDC's first graduating class of four-year college degrees. In June 1923, the Sisters leased along Green Road in South Euclid to build a new campus and purchased in 1924. Construction of the campus began in the fall of 1926 and opened on Sept. 17, 1928. The college later bought the in 1933. The college was originally located in a single building and expanded over time, Harks Hall was built in 1955 to house resident students with two other residence halls built in the 1960s. NDC constructed the Clara Fritzsche Library in 1971 and the Keller Center in 1987.