In 1933, Bishop John Mark Gannon founded Cathedral College to give the boys of Erie, Pennsylvania, a chance for a better life. Initially a branch campus of Villa Maria College, which it would merge with 56 years later, the community college moved from a dilapidated building next to the bishop's residence in 1941 to one of the most elegant structures in downtown Erie, the Strong Mansion. The school was then renamed the Gannon School of Arts and Science. Three years later, the school began awarding bachelor's degrees and became Gannon College. Today, Gannon University is a highly ranked liberal arts university that offers nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate degrees to students from around the world. Gannon has been a prominent feature in downtown Erie for more than 80 years, and in 2015, another city became a part of Gannon history with the opening of the university's first branch campus in Ruskin, Florida.