St. Mary's University, Texas

In October 1927, the San Antonio Bar Association established the San Antonio School of Law, and for seven years after its founding was administered by a board of governors under the control of the bar association. Until the School of Law became associated with a physical campus, classes were held at the Bexar County Courthouse. In an attempt to maximize educational and material resources of the fledgling institution, the Board of Governors negotiated with St. Mary's University regarding a transfer of the School of Law's administrative control. The transfer was completed on October 1, 1934, and St. Mary's University School of Law was officially established.

The School of Law was then housed at St. Mary's University's then downtown campus at 112 College Street, situated near the San Antonio River Walk. Possessing several military bases, San Antonio experienced a surge of population and industry in the years immediately following World War II. This exponential growth resulted in more law students. To meet these new demands adequately, the School of Law organized itself to meet the requirements of the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. It received accreditation from the ABA in February 1948 and became a member of the AALS in December 1949.

On December 19, 1967, the School of Law relocated from the College Street campus to join the main campus of St. Mary's. A multimillion-dollar expansion project had provided for the addition of eight new buildings to the main University campus, including a lecture hall, law library, and faculty building comprising the Law Center. The school held its first classes the next month, in January 1968.

Since 1968, the school has had several structures rededicated, renovated, or expanded, including the Law Administration Building, housing the office of the dean; the Law Classroom Building; and the Sarita Kenedy East Law Library, named after Sarita Kenedy East and dedicated in 1984 after the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation gave the School of Law $7.5 million to fund its construction in January 1982.

In April, St. Mary's University and the city of San Antonio plays host to Fiesta San Antonio. On campus, the university hosts Oyster Bake,[16] a combination of concerts, food stalls, and carnival rides. The university has played host to the event since 1916 and it has since become a major event in the city culturally and economically. The event is open to students, who are also able to participate in "Rattler Fest" which is a exclusive festival for St. Mary's students prior to the larger Oyster Bake.[17]

St. Mary's University is home to twelve Greek organizations, no Greek organization is permitted to have a house due to a city ordinance preventing boarding homes.[18] Every Friday Greek Life hosts "Quad" where every active social fraternity and sorority hangout in the morning behind St. Louis Hall.[19]

Many of the events that are open to the entire campus are organized by the campus' IFC chapter. The IFC operates as a regulatory body upon all fraternities on campus, and is the primary link between the school administration and the independent student organized and operated fraternities.[20]

Fraternities and sororities on campus include:

• Kappa Sigma
• Sigma Phi Epsilon
• Lambda Chi Alpha
• Sigma Lambda Beta
• Alpha Sigma Phi
• Chi Phi
• Alpha Sigma Tau
• Alpha Phi
• Sigma Sigma Sigma
• Delta Zeta
• Alpha Phi Omega
• Omega Delta Phi
• Kappa Delta Chi
• Beta Sigma Phi
• Delta Sigma Pi