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. 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. It 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. 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.
History
The University of Mary has its origins in a boarding school founded in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, in 1878 by Benedictine sisters. In 1885, the sisters founded St. Alexius Hospital, adding a College of Nursing in 1915. 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.
First buildings
In the early 1950s, the sisters requested that celebrated Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer design a new priory building. 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 only after visiting the site, meeting with the sisters, and being "overwhelmed by the power and presence of the landscape setting and the mission." Breuer's designs used native granite prairie stone, complex concrete shapes, and a juxtaposition of light and shadow. 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. 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.
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.
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 flagship facility that houses the Gary Tharaldson School opened in September 2008.