An Open Letter to the Webster Groves Community

Updated Letter, posted Oct. 19, 2026:

Last week the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) of Webster Groves approved Webster University’s application to raze the Werhli building at 4 Joy Avenue from the 5.25 acres that the University owns on the north side of E. Lockwood.  In the same meeting, the HPC did not grant approval to remove the Luhr building from the property.  

Webster University would like to thank the HPC commissioners, especially because they are not compensated for their time.  We recognize that the commissioners are volunteering their time, and the University is grateful for that commitment to service.

Webster University shared with the HPC commissioners last week that for more than a century, the University has been committed to investing in a thriving Webster Groves community.  That commitment transcends a single, concrete and brick structure that is not actually designated as historic.  In last week’s meeting, the University articulated to the HPC commissioners our desire to serve as a catalyst for the City of Webster Groves’ Strategic Plan Principles and Goals.  Examples were referenced during the meeting of the numerous ways that Webster University supports the very principles and goals that the City believes will empower a thriving future for its citizens.  I believe it’s important to articulate some connections more clearly:

City of Webster Groves Principle: Fiscal Integrity as an Organization and through Economic Development

• Webster University is the largest employer in Webster Groves, and its students and employees spend nearly $90 million per year with local businesses.

City of Webster Groves Principle: Purposeful Land Use

• Webster University is seeking to make the entire 5.25 acres that the University owns on the north side of E. Lockwood available for the City of Webster Groves to pursue with a developer a more purposeful use of the land.  Currently, any contiguous green space on the 5.25 acres has been replaced with parking lots, driveways, signage, and, of course, unused, rapidly deteriorating buildings.  

City of Webster Groves Principle:  Foundation in the Arts

• Webster University is the home to many of the most impactful arts programs that contribute to the City’s recent self-designation as the “City of the Arts.”

City of Webster Groves Goal: Provide Excellence in Service

• Webster University invites Webster Groves residents to use our facilities and resources for free or at a discounted cost, including the Emerson Library (free), the pool and gym ($60/month), events like theatrical, musical performances, conferences, and world-renowned speakers (free - $5/show).  

City of Webster Groves Goal:  Achieve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Webster University began as a college for women and is currently the most diverse private, non-profit university in Missouri in terms of ethnic and international students.  

City of Webster Groves Goal: Cultivate a Diverse Housing Stock

• Webster University has sold nearly 20 houses and the Old Orchard Shopping Center in the last 24 months because those properties did not advance the University’s mission.  Again, the 5.25 acres that the University owns on the north side of E. Lockwood would be a significant opportunity for the City of Webster Groves to partner with a developer to add to the housing stock.  

City of Webster Groves Goals: Ensure Long-term Fiscal Integrity and Strengthen Economic Development

• It bears repeating that Webster University is the largest employer in Webster Groves, spends nearly $90M per year with businesses, sold its real estate properties, and is now seeking to sell the 5.25 acres that, once developed, will generate enormous NEW TAX REVENUE for the City.

As described in the October 9 open letter below, Webster University has earned the reputation as the “Higher Ed Unicorn” for our social impact on a global scale, while maintaining scalability and sustainability.  Extraordinary barriers outside of our control, whether global, national or local, require resilience.  Webster University will continue to thrive precisely because we have honed the capacity to adjust.  Through our success, we hope to continue serving as an indispensable catalyst for a thriving City of Webster Groves.

Tim Keane

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Original Letter, posted Oct. 9, 2026:

By Webster University President Tim Keane

Webster University was asked to share information about potential future uses of the Luhr building with the Historic Preservation Commission of Webster Groves on October 13. Anticipating a packed agenda, this open letter is offered to memorialize milestones in the truly remarkable history of Webster University, and the many ways that our University contributes to ensuring that the home of our Flagship Campus remains a thriving community.

Historic Preservation

Photo: (1915) Community members help lay the cornerstone for Webster Hall.

More than a century ago, when the Sisters of Loretto saw a need to help women earn an advanced education, it was Webster Groves benefactor Benjamin Webster who answered the call. Benjamin offered his former home to the Sisters for the construction of "Loretto Seminary” for the education of young women in 1897 and later acknowledged in letters that he did so because of the need for advanced education in the community. In 1915, Webster Hall was constructed on that site, becoming the home for the University and a major landmark in the community.

Photo: Sign for Nerinx Hall High School. Date unknown.

In 1922, the Sisters purchased land from Richard Lockwood and moved the education of high school girls to the Lockwood Mansion. This was done to meet demands from the Webster Groves community to continue offering high school education and to address the new accreditation standards for the College. Webster professors and students taught classes at Nerinx for many years. In 1953, a new “Nerinx Hall” was built on the property that was originally part of Webster College.

Photo: The Thompson Music House

A search of Webster University’s archives uncovers another important relationship with a philanthropic-minded citizen of Webster Groves, Frank Thompson, a banker and owner of the Carondelet Foundry. Mr. Thompson was an avid gardener who invited students from Webster College to use his elaborate garden for botany lessons. After his death, his house was left to the Episcopalian Church, but by the late 1950s, the church needed a larger space. Webster University owned the Culver House in West County, and in the spirit of cooperation, the two entities traded properties. Today, the Thompson House is home to Webster University’s Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts. In 1982, the Thompson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo: Conrad Hilton with Sister Jacqueline at the 1964 groundbreaking for the Loretto-Hilton Center. Construction was completed in 1966.

In the late 1950s, the Sisters envisioned a performing arts center to enhance the lives of Webster’s students and provide the Webster Groves community with a destination for world-class performances closer to home. The Sisters reached out to Conrad Hilton, the founder of the international chain of hotels, to remind him that he was educated in schools run by the Sisters of Loretto. After three straight years of persistent reminders, the hotelier relented and invested in building the Loretto-Hilton Center for Performing Arts. This year the Loretto-Hilton is celebrating 60 years of hosting world-class performing arts, right here in Webster Groves.

Shortly after the Loretto-Hilton Center opened, Webster faculty, staff and students organized programs to bring unique and original plays and operas to Webster Groves, citing the lack of those arts in the St. Louis region. Those efforts grew into The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, two arts organizations that would likely not exist today without Webster University’s vision as the “College of the Arts” and its years of nurturing support.

Flash forward to today. When I arrived at Webster in August of 2024, the University was facing significant financial challenges. Every Webster resident I met, and indeed every St. Louisan I talked with, implored me to do everything I could to prevent Webster University from shuttering like Fontbonne.

Having been born and raised about a mile from Webster Groves near Grant’s Farm, the challenge was personal, and the fear was real. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 500 non-profit, four-year universities have closed in the last decade.

Through an inclusive, transparent and innovative Kairos Strategic Plan that required the commitment and extraordinary resilience of our entire Webster University Community, our University – the City of Webster Groves’ University – finished each of the last two years with a positive cash flow. That had not happened in more than a decade.

So, what does that mean to residents of Webster Groves?

Webster Groves now has bragging rights as the home of “The Higher Ed Unicorn.” Webster University is thriving today despite nearly insurmountable barriers, many of which are outside of our control. Policies that condemn the very values that bind Webster University and the City of Webster Groves together are unrelenting. The residents of Webster Groves can rely on Webster University to continue seeking diversity, and we will serve as ambassadors on your behalf to welcome people from all over the world to be part of our Community of Care.

The City of Webster Groves benefits from Webster University’s global reach, which contributes to our Higher Ed Unicorn status. No other university in the United States has as many international locations as Webster University, including locations across Europe and Asia.

Another unique differentiator that the City of Webster Groves should feel good about is that over the last 50 years, Webster University has awarded more degrees to the United States military than any other private, four-year university in the country.

For those residents seeking more than pride in the diversity, global reach, and unparalleled support of the U.S. military, being the home of the Higher Ed Unicorn comes with some very tangible economic benefits:

• Webster University is the largest employer in the City of Webster Groves.
• According to one study, Webster University students and employees add an estimated $88 million annually to the Webster Groves economy.
• Webster University pays more than $300,000 per year in personal property taxes even though our status as a nonprofit does not require us to do so.
• Webster University sold more than a dozen houses in the last year because the Kairos plan focused our team on pursuing our mission, which does not include being a landlord. Those houses provided a significant opportunity for wonderful families to join one of the most welcoming cities in the St. Louis region.

Photo: (2024) A Community Music School student plays cello on the Webster University campus.

As important as Webster University’s economic impact is to the City of Webster Groves, some might see our contribution to the culture of the City as even more vital. Webster University is second in the state of Missouri behind WashU in enrollments of international students, adding to the cultural mosaic of Webster Groves. The Webster Groves City Council just officially adopted “The City of the Arts” as its tagline. Webster University’s contribution to that differentiator includes:

• The Virginia Browning Mainstage in the Loretto-Hilton Center
• The Emerson Studio Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center 
• The Dot Theatrical Performance Stage in Webster Hall 
• The Kooyumjian Photo Gallery 
• The Hunt Art Gallery 
• The Community Music School 
• The Webster University Dance Studio 
• The Performance Stage in the Thompson House 
• Numerous sculptures throughout Webster’s campus, including many by internationally recognized artists
• Unique art throughout Webster University’s buildings, including several early Warhols.

Webster University’s impact on the City of Webster Groves is more than numbers and history. It’s about generations of students, employees, alumni, artists, educators, neighbors and community partners who have helped make Webster Groves the Community of Care that it is today.

So here’s to hoping that the bond between the Higher Ed Unicorn, Webster University and the Community of Care that is the City of Webster Groves lasts for another century.

Visit our website to learn more about how the University positively impacts the community.