The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota that has 3,852 students. It was established in 1959 as Mary College.
The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota.[3] It has study-abroad campuses in Rome and Arequipa, Peru, and also operates academic programs at satellite locations in North Dakota (Fargo, downtown Bismarck, Williston, Watford City, Grand Forks), Minnesota, Montana, Kansas, and Arizona.
History
The first Benedictine sisters to arrive in Bismarck, ND
The University of Mary has its origins in a boarding school founded in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, in 1878 by Benedictine sisters.[4] In 1885, the sisters founded St. Alexius Hospital, adding a College of Nursing in 1915.[5] In 1944, the sisters formed the Convent of the Annunciation, independent of the motherhouse in St. Joseph, Minnesota. The convent was renamed Annunciation Priory in 1947.[6]
First buildings
Architect Marcel Breuer designed the college's original campus (c. 1955)
In the early 1950s, the sisters requested that celebrated Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer design a new priory building.[7] At the time, Breuer was finishing the new abbey and several university buildings at Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville in Minnesota. In 1955, Breuer accepted the commission[7] only after visiting the site, meeting with the sisters, and being "overwhelmed by the power and presence of the landscape setting and the mission."[4] Breuer's designs used native granite prairie stone, complex concrete shapes, and a juxtaposition of light and shadow.[4] The first buildings were a convent, dining hall, and classrooms. The school was officially founded as a women's college in 1959 as Mary College. Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel was consecrated in 1963 in the second phase of construction.[8] As the school grew, it endeavored to preserve the spirit of Breuer's modernist prairie architecture while implementing new programs and new buildings by lesser-known architects.[4]
Coeducation and university status
Mary College rapidly expanded and became fully co-educational in the 1960s. It achieved university status — becoming the University of Mary — in 1986. The University of Mary is the only private, Catholic university in North Dakota. It has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1969. Since its incorporation in 1959, the university's enrollment has grown from 69 to more than 3,800. Its undergraduate programs have grown from nursing and education to 65+ degrees, ranging from accounting to Catholic studies.
In 1986, the university began offering master's degrees in nursing, management, and education. It has added master's programs in business administration, counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, public administration, project management, clinical exercise physiology, kinesiology, speech-language pathology, music, Catholic studies, and bioethics. Doctorates are currently offered in education, nursing, business, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.[9]
2000 and later
In 2001, the University of Mary unveiled its vision as "America's Leadership University." In 2005, the master's degree in physical therapy was replaced by a Doctor of Physical Therapy — the university's first doctorate. The first 26 candidates in this program received their entry-level clinical doctorate in 2006. Since then, doctorates have been added in Education, Nursing, and Occupational Therapy. The University of Mary has expanded options in order to make education accessible to working adults and to support lifelong learning in the region and beyond. University of Mary Online offers accelerated undergraduate and graduate programs for the adult learner. Today, the University of Mary has 14 satellite campuses in the Upper Midwest and beyond, including the Butler Center in downtown Bismarck, Fargo Center in Fargo, North Dakota, and Billings Center in Billings, Montana. Since 2005, the University of Mary has offered bachelor's and master's programs online.
In 2006, UMary initiated the Gary Tharaldson School of Business. Named for Gary Tharaldson, a North Dakota hospitality entrepreneur and industry innovator, the new school was designed to bridge the gap between the academic and business world. The 29,000-square-foot (2,700m2) flagship facility that houses the Gary Tharaldson School opened in September 2008.
In December 2008, the university announced that a 33-year-old Catholic priest, Father James Patrick Shea, had been named as its new president. At the time and for nearly a decade afterwards, he was the youngest college or university president in the United States.[10]
From the fall of 2009 to the Spring of 2010, the University of Mary searched for a facility as the base for its Rome, Italy program. It found one a ten-minute bus ride from the city center, on the Via del Casaletto. The first students to study in this Rome program traveled from the United States in the Fall of 2010.
The Catholic Studies Program, an initiative of Shea, was also launched in the fall of 2010. On October 19, 2010, the program was named in honor of Bishop Paul Albert Zipfel, sixth bishop of the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota. The Catholic Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program designed to explore the Catholic Church's contributions to and influence on human thought and culture, past and present. The program invites students of any faith who wish to deepen their knowledge of Catholicism's rich history and living tradition.
In 2019, the University of Mary started a Satellite program, where an ASU student can take University of Mary Classes at the Old Main in Tempe, Arizona.[11] The classes taken would also count as humanities credits for ASU classes. This program was the result of collaboration between Dr Crow, president of ASU, and Monsignor Shea.[12]
The University of Mary has 1,130 employees, with a full-time teaching faculty of more than 300. Annual revenues in 2021 were $81.9 million.[13]
Campus
A portion of the University of Mary's main campus, seen from the east, overlooking the Missouri River valley
The University of Mary is a rural campus located about four miles (6.4km) south of Bismarck and was built on a high prairie bluff overlooking the "Capital City." The campus includes 24 buildings and is accessible via the Green 3 Route of Bis-Man Transit.[14] Several of the original buildings on campus were designed by architect Marcel Breuer.[15]
The Harold Schafer Leadership Center is home to a leadership program that the university offers. The upper floor usually holds conferences and meetings while the lower floor is home to IT training centers.[16][17]
The Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership is one of the oldest buildings on campus, since it previously served as the library and a priory for the Sisters. It primarily houses the university's administrative offices, including the Offices of the President, Academic Affairs, Undergraduate Admissions, UMary Online, Public Affairs, Financial Aid, the Registrar, Student Accounts, Student Success Center, Student Development, Career and Testing Services, M-Card Office, and the Business Office. It is also home to the Liffrig School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, three residence halls (below), and the Hauer Family Theater.[18]
St. Joseph's Hall for Men is a men's faith-based residence hall. Boniface Hall is a women's residence hall. St. Scholastica's Hall for Women is a women's faith-based residence hall. Roers Hall is a freshman women's residence housing the Saint Scholastica community on its third floor.[19]
Welder Library was built in 1990 and is named for the university's president emerita, Sister Thomas Welder. The library houses 61,000 print volumes, more than 340,000 eBooks, 3,600 multimedia items, and databases providing access to over 60,000 journals. The library building is also home to the humanities division of the School of Arts and Sciences.[20]
Greg Butler Hall is a women's residence hall located just southeast of the Welder Library. Hillside Hall is a women's residence hall located just northeast of the Welder Library. An outdoor track and baseball field are located east of both halls.
The McDowell Activity Center (MAC) is the center of the athletics department and includes offices and lockers on the lower level and a weight room. The main use for this center is for the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team. The McDowell Activity Center is located just north of Hillside Hall. The Tschider Center for Health Sciences occupies one wing of this building, and provides both office and classroom space for the human performance programs.
The Lumen Vitae University Center (LVUC) serves as a community gathering space for students and faculty. The campus restaurant, the Crow's Nest, offers 24/7 dining. The Bookstore and Marauders Mart are located near the Crow's Nest.[21]
A panorama of the Crow's Nest Campus Restaurant
The Harold J. Miller Center is one of the oldest buildings on campus and houses science, math, occupational therapy, and a computer lab. This building is connected to the east side of University Hall. Arno Gustin Hall includes the main auditorium for the campus The Clairmont Center houses the music department as well as some classrooms and Heskett Hall, which is a small performing stage and home to a few lecture classes. The Casey Center for Nursing Education houses the nursing and physical therapy departments. In addition, the information desk is located here as well as a lounge just east of the information area. Tennis courts are accessible just outside the north end of this part of the building. In addition, there are practice fields for football, softball, soccer, track & field, and baseball on campus.
On April 25, 2019, construction began on the new school of engineering which will be housed in the renovated University Hall.
Deichert and Boyle Halls are student apartments located at the far north end of campus. Just beyond Deichert Hall, on the northernmost side of campus, lie "The Cloisters." The Cloisters is available to only upper and graduate level students. The Cloisters consists of three buildings, two suite-styled apartments and a student commons/campus pub. The two apartments are named after the Benedictine heritage sites Subiaco (women's) and Monte Cassino (men's). The student commons/campus pub is named "Chesterton's," in honor of the famous Christian essayist of the 20th century, G.K. Chesterton.
The University of Mary campus with a view of Apple Creek and the Missouri River below
North entrance to the Lumen Vitae University Center
Inside the Lumen Vitae University Center's main atrium
A view from one of the balconies in the Lumen Vitae University Center
A view from the stage of Founders Hall, the University's main ballroom, prepared for a banquet
One of the private dining rooms available for internal and external events at the University
The University of Mary's Grotto dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as seen at night
The University of Mary's Grotto dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
A view of the University of Mary's pub, "Chesterton's" named after G.K. Chesterton
A view of the main chapel at the University of Mary, Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel
A small prayer chapel for reposition of the Blessed Sacrament in Our Lady of Annunciation Chapel
Roers Hall, the freshmen women's residence hall
Welder Library and the Gary Tharaldson School of Business at sunset
A view out of the large windows of Welder Library
A view of the expansive University of Mary Fieldhouse
Rankings
University of Mary is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College and is recognized as a college of distinction with notable programs in education, business, engineering, and nursing.[22][23] The National Council of State Boards of Nursing exam results (i.e. NCLEX) ranked the University of Mary’s nursing program as #1 regionally and #1 of 2,061 nursing programs nationwide in 2019, and again in 2021 as #1 of 2,145 nursing programs nationwide.[24][25][26][27]
The University of Mary is a member of the NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The University of Mary athletics teams are known as the "Marauders," and the team colors are blue and orange. The Marauders field teams in 18 varsity sports, including golf, football, basketball, swimming, soccer, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, cross country, volleyball, baseball, softball, wrestling, and tennis. In 2018–19, the Marauders also launched an American Collegiate Hockey Association hockey team, finishing its inaugural season 39-6-2, winning two national championships in ACHA Division 2 before moving to ACHA Division 1 in 2023.[28]
Marauders Football takes the field.
Marauders Volleyball match in the Marauders Activity Center
Marauders Basketball's Devon Douglas winning the NCAA Slam Dunk Contest
Marauders indoor track competition in the UMary Fieldhouse
Marauders Hockey player races for the puck
Marauders Softball sliding safe into base
UMary wrestling against a rival school in the Marauders Activity Center
Marauders Women's Basketball sets up for a shot down low
UMary Men's Track and Field in the UMary Fieldhouse
Marauders Women's Swimming competition
Notable alumni
Kevin Cramer - United States Senator and Representative for the state of North Dakota
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The population was 73,622 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 75,092 in 2023, while its metropolitan population was 133,626. In 2020, Forbes magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States.
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Annunciation Monastery is a Benedictine monastery in Bismarck, North Dakota, USA associated with the University of Mary. The monastery's building was designed by noted modernist architect Marcel Breuer and constructed from 1959 to 1963. The project features a 100 feet (30 m) tall bell banner which is similar to the one constructed by Breuer at Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville.
Sister Thomas Welder, OSB was an American educator, academic administrator, and Benedictine nun. Born and raised in North Dakota, she entered Annunciation Monastery in 1959, at age 19. She began working at the Benedictine-sponsored Mary College in 1963 and served as its president from 1978 to 2009. Under Welder, the college expanded to become the University of Mary. She received North Dakota's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, in 2004.
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