Avila University is a Roman Catholic liberal arts university in Kansas City, Missouri. A religious order called the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet founded Avila in 1916 as a two-year women's college. They named it St. Teresa College in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. In 1941, the college became the four-year College of St. Teresa. In 1963, the institution changed its name to Avila College. It became coeducational in 1969. In 2002, the institution became Avila University.