Mount Mercy College
Mount Mercy College is a four-year, co-educational Catholic liberal arts college located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1928. Intellectual development and strong career preparation are the twin anchors of academic life at Mount Mercy College, a 79 year-old Catholic four-year co-educational college founded by the Sisters of Mercy. Students take a core of liberal arts courses providing a comprehensive foundation for many specific areas of study including: English, fine arts, history, mathematics, multicultural studies, natural science, philosophy, religious studies, social science and speech/drama. The college offers over 34 majors in both liberal arts and professional programs. Mount Mercy College was founded as a two-year college for women in 1928 by the Sisters of Mercy of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Sisters of Mercy, whose order was founded in 1831 by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, have been active in Cedar Rapids since 1878. The college was an outgrowth of their concerns about the education of women. In 1957, the College became a four-year institution and awarded its first bachelor’s degree in 1959. The college received accreditation as a baccalaureate institution by the North Central Association in 1960. In 1968 the Sisters of Mercy transferred their legal authority and responsibility to a self-perpetuating independent board of which three members would always be Sisters of Mercy. Mount Mercy College became coeducational in 1969. While integrating a strong liberal arts component, the college has always emphasized professional development from its early involvement, as a junior college, on business courses and teacher education. The departments of nursing, education and social work were accredited in the 1960s and 1970s as the four-year programs developed. Begun in 1997, the ADVANCE program, a joint Mount Mercy College/Kirkwood Community College accelerated degree completion program for working adults meets an important community workforce development need. The college continues under the spiritual and intellectual auspices of the Sisters of Mercy, whose commitment is to "serve human needs where they exist." The current president is Dr. Christopher R.L. Blake, 2006 to present.