The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters in 1958 converted the Francis Hall, an orphanage, into a full-fledged academic institution known as the Alvernia University. Their primary objective was to prepare women for the future with the help of catholic education. Later in 1967, it was granted accreditation from the Middle State. The main campus of the university operates at Berks County. The other two campuses are located at Philadelphia and Schuylkill. The main campus only provides undergraduate degree courses. Alvernia University is best known for its courses in fields like Business, Criminal Justice, Nursing, and Occupational Therapy. The university was the first one to introduce a program in Criminal Justice program which is a popular choice amongst students. This program was also the first to be chaired by a woman. The university has been granted accreditation by various commissions like the CAAHEP, ACOTE and Council on Social Word Education. The Franco library of the university houses 1,00,000 physical books and periodicals. It also has more than 200,000 eBooks, 46,000 eJournals, and 125 research guides. The university aims at enhancing the problem-solving and leadership skills of students and for this, it offers more than 50 clubs and organisations organising a plethora of cultural activities on a timely basis.