Mount St. Mary's University is a private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richard J. Bolte School of Business, and the School of Natural Science and Mathematics. "The Mount" has over 40 undergraduate majors, minors, concentrations, and special programs, as well as bachelor's/master's combinations in partnership with other universities, 8 master's programs, and 6 postgraduate certificate programs.

History

Origins

thumb|left|The entrance sign to Mount St. Mary's University

Mount Saint Mary's was founded by French émigré John DuBois, a French-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of New York from 1826 until his death in 1842. In 1805, DuBois bought land near Emmitsburg, Maryland on the mountain that Catholic colonists had christened "St. Mary's Mountain," and laid the cornerstone for Saint-Mary's-on-the-Hill church. Parishioners from two local congregations built a one-story, two room log cabin for DuBois, and that cabin was the first structure of Mount Saint Mary's. The church was completed in 1807. DuBois first opened a boarding school for children. Then, in 1808, the Society of St. Sulpice closed Pigeon Hill, its preparatory seminary in Pennsylvania, and transferred all the seminarians to Emmitsburg. This marked the official beginning of Mount St. Mary's. DuBois was appointed president of the college. Simon Bruté, whom President John Quincy Adams called "the most learned man of his day in America", joined Mount St. Mary's as teacher and vice-president in 1812. The small faculty of Mount St. Mary's strove to offer a full high school and college course to lay students and potential priests and developed Mount St. Mary's into "one of the most important ecclesiastical institutions of the country". DuBois Hall, named for DuBois, was completed in 1826 in what had been a swampy thicket on the mountain. The first charter for a university was obtained in 1830. Until the early 1900s, Mount St. Mary's also acted as a boarding school. Some remnants of the boarding school, such as Bradley Hall (one of the oldest buildings on campus), still exist. The Mount was known as Mount Saint Mary's College and Seminary until June 7, 2004, when the name was changed to Mount Saint Mary's University.

Saint Joseph College history and merger with Mount Saint Mary's

Elizabeth Ann Seton, founder of the Sisters of Charity and the first native born United States citizen to be canonized as a saint, came to Emmitsburg in 1809. She lived on the campus of Mount St. Mary's while her own school was being built. For a while, she lived in the same log cabin that had been built for DuBois. This school is considered to be the foundation of the entire Catholic parochial school system in the United States. Seton wrote classroom textbooks and trained her Catholic sisters to become teachers, and accepted all students regardless of ability to pay. and, since the campuses of the all-female Saint Joseph College and the all-male Mount St. Mary's were just a couple of miles apart, the schools historically depended on each other for social life. In 1967, female students at Saint Joseph College began taking some classes at Mount St. Mary's, and men from Mount St. Mary's began taking some classes at Saint Joseph.

World War II

During World War II, Mount Saint Mary's College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.

2016 "Drown the bunnies" controversy

In January 2016, The Washington Post reported on plans by university president Simon P. Newman to use a questionnaire administered to freshman students to dismiss 20 to 25 freshmen in the first weeks of school to improve the school's retention statistics. The questionnaire included questions about students' mental health, disabilities, and financial support. The story originally appeared in the university's student newspaper, The Mountain Echo. Newman was quoted as saying, in response to criticism and questions from colleagues, "you think of the students as cuddly bunnies, but you can't. You just have to drown the bunnies ... put a Glock to their heads." University provost David Rehm also objected to the president's plan and was asked to resign as provost but allowed to keep his faculty position. Over 8,000 scholars digitally signed a petition for them to be reinstated, while organizations such as the American Association of University Professors, Student Press Law Center, issued statements condemning Newman's actions. On February 12, 2016, the Mount St. Mary's faculty issued a resolution asking Newman to resign; on that same day, Newman announced at a faculty meeting that the two fired professors would be reinstated. On February 29, 2016, the university announced Newman's resignation. In a statement, Newman said that he cared deeply about the university, and that the recent publicity regarding his leadership became "too great of a distraction to our mission of educating students."

Connection to Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College in Indiana

French missionary Simon Bruté spent two decades as teacher and pastor in the formative years of Mount St. Mary's. He was considered "one of the foremost scholars in America," and he had a great deal of influence on the Catholic Church in America. In 1834, he was appointed the founding bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana. In 1832, Stephen Badin of Indiana purchased of land surrounding two lakes near South Bend, Indiana, and when he retired in 1835 he deeded the property to the Diocese of Vincennes. It was Badin's dream that a school would be established there.

Bruté visited the South Bend property and described it as "a most desirable spot, and one soon I hope to be occupied by some prosperous institution." In 1836, Bruté traveled to France seeking funds and priests for his diocese, and one of the priests he recruited was Edward Sorin, the founder of Notre Dame. After Bruté's death in 1839, his successor, Bishop Hailandière, offered the South Bend property to Sorin for the purpose of starting a college. The school was founded in 1842 as "L'Université de Notre Dame du Lac" (The University of Our Lady of the Lake).thumb|right|Entrance to the Delaplaine Fine Arts Center

National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

thumb|Grotto cave at National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, April 2016

thumb|Fountain pool at National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, April 2016

Mount St. Mary's is home to the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a Catholic pilgrimage site devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary that draws thousands of visitors annually. Emmitsburg.net describes the grotto as "a place of pastoral beauty and spiritual inspiration ... situated high on the mountainside where nature displays itself in all its wild and picturesque glory." The sixty acres of grounds include lush gardens, a pond, rosary paths, the Stations of the Cross, devotional areas, a scenic overlook, and St. Mary's Chapel on the Hill (also known as the Glass Chapel). Grotto water flows from taps located around a fountain pool, and chaplains are available to bless the water for visitors. John Watterson had the stone grotto cave built in 1875 as a replica of the miraculous Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

The grotto was first established on St. Mary's Mountain in 1805 by the university's founder, John Dubois. According to legend, DuBois was attracted to a light on the mountain and found a blessed spot and sat down at the foot of a large oak tree beside a stream. He made a cross of twigs and fixed it to the tree to be the symbol of the holy work he was undertaking. This was the original grotto. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton attended Sunday Mass at the Grotto chapel. The 1911 book The Story of the Mountain tells how Mother Seton would sit on her favorite rock at the Grotto and "invoke the divine blessing by reciting the Canticle of the Three Children, and none that heard her could ever forget the tones of that voice and the fervor of that heart, which in the midst of the wild scenery of nature called upon all creatures to bless and magnify their Creator."

Frederick campus

The Frederick campus is a satellite campus of The Mount that is located in Frederick, Maryland, about south of the main Emmitsburg campus. All classes are held in the evening to accommodate working adults. Students can study in master's degree and graduate certificate programs. There are four undergraduate degree programs that are designed specifically for working adults: B.S. in business, B.A. in criminal justice, B.S. in elementary education, and B.S. in human services. Most courses are offered in five or eight-week sessions, instead of traditional 15-week semesters. Classes meet once each week, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Sessions run on a year-around schedule.

Academics

Undergraduate admissions

In 2024, the university accepted 79.6% of undergraduate applicants, with those admitted having an average 3.36 GPA. Mount St. Mary's University does not require submission of standardized test scores. The university is a test optional school and those submitting test scores had an average 1040–1250 SAT score (22% submitting scores) or average 19–25 ACT score (2% submitting scores).

Rankings

In 2024, Mount St. Mary's University was ranked tied for #69 out of 178 Regional Universities North by U.S. News & World Report. The Mount was also ranked #24 in Best Value Schools and #48 in Best Colleges for Veterans.

Seminary

Mount Saint Mary's Seminary enrolls on average over 150 full-time residential seminarians each year. They represent more than 25 dioceses from the U.S., as well as overseas. Students must be sponsored by a diocese or religious order before applying to study at the seminary. Some seminarians are co-sponsored by the Archdiocese for the Military Services. It is the second oldest Catholic seminary in the United States (after St. Mary's in Baltimore). The Catholic Review writes that the seminary has "a solid tradition of excellence in the formation of candidates for the Catholic priesthood." The seminary is well known for its more traditional theology, discipline and secluded rural setting. John Hughes, an early graduate of the seminary, was the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. Class of 1826 graduate John McCloskey became the first American cardinal in 1875.

The seminary online blog On Mary's Mountain describes the daily life of the seminary community. Seminarians also write the Seminary Newsletter.

Students and faculty

In 2014–15 the university enrolled 1,741 undergraduate students and 499 graduate students, with a total of 2,240 students.

The student population is about 55% female and 45% male.

Of the 1,689 undergraduate students, 55% are from Maryland and 33% are from other Mid-Atlantic States. 33 total states are represented, as well as 13 foreign countries.

Around 85% of undergraduates live on campus.

The student-faculty ratio is 13:1, and 46 percent of classes have fewer than twenty students. The most popular majors at Mount St. Mary's include: Business/Commerce, Criminology, Biological Sciences, Elementary/Secondary Education, and Accounting. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 80%.

For students who want to graduate early, the university offers a three-year degree option.

Athletics

thumb|right|Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers alternate logo

Mount St. Mary's athletic teams compete as "the Mountaineers" at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Mount has been a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) since 2022–23, having previously held membership in the Northeast Conference (NEC) from 1989–90 to 2021–22, and the Mason–Dixon Conference, at the NCAA Division II level, from 1940–41 to 1977–78 and from 1983–84 to 1987–88.

The Mount competes in 22 intercollegiate sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and water polo; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and water polo.

Notable people

Staff

  • Simon Bruté, one of the earliest faculty members at the Mount as of 1812 and supporter to Dubois. Bruté taught both high school to local boys and college level courses to seminarians.
  • Jim Phelan, basketball head coach until 2003. Phelan had 830 career wins (currently 18th on the all-time list), and coached a college basketball record 49 seasons at the same school. At the time of his retirement, Phelan had coached more NCAA games than any other coach in collegiate history. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Alumni

  • John Baer, journalist
  • Geno Baroni, civil rights and anti-poverty activist
  • Agnus Berenato (1980), head women's basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh
  • Rory Bourke (1964), songwriter, co-wrote the No. 1 hit song "The Most Beautiful Girl"; inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989
  • Todd Bowles (2022), former American football player and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach
  • Charles C. Byrne, U.S. Army general
  • Fred Carter, professional basketball player, 1969–1976; his Mount St. Mary's jersey number "33" was retired in 2007
  • Jamion Christian, Former Mount St. Mary's Head Basketball Coach
  • Joe Engel, major league baseball pitcher 1912–20 (mainly for the Washington Senators)
  • Edward J. Flanagan, founder of Boys Town in 1921; portrayed by Spencer Tracy in the 1938 film Boys Town
  • William J. Frank, member of Maryland House of Delegates
  • Francis Xavier Gartland, (January 13, 1805 – September 20, 1854) first Bishop of Savannah, Georgia (1850–1854)
  • Kielce Gussie, journalist
  • Chase Hilgenbrinck, former professional soccer player for the New England Revolution; priest and Vocation Director for Recruitment of the Diocese of Peoria
  • Harry Hughes, Governor of Maryland, 1979–87
  • John Hughes, the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, 1842–64
  • John LaFarge, artist
  • Joe Lamas, American professional football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Richard A. La Vay (1975) former Maryland State Delegate
  • William E. Lori, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
  • Francisco I. Madero, democratic president of Mexico from 1911 to 1913; boarding school graduate
  • Michael McCafferty, author and entrepreneur
  • John McCloskey, first American Cardinal, archbishop of New York 1864–1885, first president of Fordham University 1841–43; university and seminary graduate
  • Matthew F. McHugh, former U.S. Congressman
  • Elijah Mitrou-Long (born 1996), Canadian-Greek basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
  • Susan O'Malley, first female president of an NBA franchise, the Washington Wizards
  • Paul Palmieri, founder of Millennial Media
  • John Baptist Purcell, Archbishop of Cincinnati
  • James William Reilly, Ohio state representative and American Civil War general in the Union Army
  • Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
  • Peter Rono, gold-medal winner of the 1,500 metres event at the 1988 Summer Olympics; university graduate
  • Stanley Rother (1963), priest and martyr; seminary graduate
  • Harry A. Slattery, U.S. Under Secretary of the Interior, 1938–39; author of the Slattery Report
  • John F. Sullivan, basketball (1953–57), later played in American Basketball League
  • Richard Vincent Whelan, Bishop of Richmond, Virginia (1841–1850) and Bishop of Wheeling, West Virginia (1850–1874).
  • Edward Douglass White, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1910–21
  • Hugo Winterhalter (1931), musical composer, arranger, musician, and orchestra leader – MSM Choir and Chorus (1928–1931)
  • Michael William Fisher (1958), Bishop of Buffalo
  • Heath Tarbert, 14th Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

See also

  • WMTB Radio – located on the campus of Mount St. Mary's
  • National Catholic Educational Association

References

  • Athletics website