Dr. Christopher R.L. Blake
President of Mount Mercy College |
"Mount
Mercy is a college of great distinction with a clear potential
for even greater success. It's my honor and priviledge to serve
as its eighth president. The college has developed into a robust
and strong community of scholars. It's positioned superbly to
enter into a new and exciting period of academic initiative, community
outreach and investment for new successes. The realization of
our hopes and dreams for Mount Mercy will be achieved as we work
together with goodwill, cooperation and occasional spurts of extraordinary
effort."
Meet
Christopher Blake
The
College
| History
| Accreditation
| Campus
| Mission
& Goals | Enrollment
Non-Traditional
Program | Resources |
Library |
Athletics
| Alumni
Community
Service | Community
& Economic Impact
Trustees
| Officers of the
Institution |
Alumni Board
The
College
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 that provide
a comprehensive foundation. Areas of study the Mount Mercy faculty
considers basic to a well-educated person are English, fine arts,
history, mathematics, multicultural studies, natural science,
philosophy, religious studies, social science and speech/drama.
The college offers over 35 majors in both liberal arts and professional
programs as well as graduate education after baccalaureate.
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History
The Sisters of Mercy founded Mount Mercy College to provide the
young women with a liberal arts based education that would prepare
them for a job. 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 became co-educational in 1969. The school continues
under the spiritual and intellectual auspices of the Sisters of
Mercy, whose commitment is to "serve human needs where they
exist."
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Accreditation
Mount Mercy College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (30 North
LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504; phone 800-621-7440),
the Council on Social Work Education (1725 Duke Street, Suite
500, Alexandria, VA 22314-3457), The State Board of Nursing and
the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle
NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036). The college is approved
by the Iowa Department of Education (Grimes State Office Building,
Des Moines, IA 50319-0146) to offer programs leading to teacher
certification in both elementary and secondary education and endorsements
in several areas including early childhood education and multicategorical
resource room teaching.
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Campus
Mount Mercy College's 40-acre campus is located in a tree-lined
residential neighborhood in the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (population
130,000). A network of tunnels connects nearly all campus buildings.
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Mission
and Goals
Mount Mercy College is a Catholic college providing student-focused
baccalaureate education in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy.
As a Catholic
college founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, Mount Mercy
College welcomes women and men of all beliefs to join our community
in the pursuit of baccalaureate education and service to those
in need.
Mount Mercy
College promotes reflective judgment, strategic communication,
the common good and purposeful living through a core curriculum,
liberal arts and professional majors and student development programs.
We strive
for excellence in accomplishing our mission through our four interdependent
goals:
- Using reflective
judgment
The abilities to think clearly and carefully, argue coherently
and evaluate competing truth claims critically are fundamental
to a college education. Reflective judgment requires a knowledge
of basic fact, examination and evaluation of assumptions, adequate
justification for drawing a conclusion and understanding implications
of drawing that conclusion. With these skills, individuals can
solve problems creatively and integrate knowledge across disciplines.
- Engaging
in strategic communication
Strategic communication requires selecting from a range of options
in order to accomplish a chosen goal in an ethical manner. These
options include construction and interpretation of messages
in the written, oral and aesthetic forms using appropriate technology.
- Serving
the common good
The common good is at the heart of Catholic social teaching.
Because persons are social by nature, every individual’s
good relates necessarily to the common good, the sum of social
conditions that allows all people to reach their human potential
more fully. It includes respect for and ethical interaction
with every person and the natural environment and, in the spirit
of the Sisters of Mercy, service for the well-being of all humanity
and action in the cause of justice in the world.
- Promoting
purposeful living
A liberal education enables persons to achieve a greater degree
of freedom upon which to act purposefully. Since development
of purpose entails planning for life based on a set of priorities,
Mount Mercy College provides opportunities for spiritual growth,
intellectual engagement, vocational clarity, social development,
physical well-being, emotional maturity and responsible community
leadership.
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Enrollment
- 1,506 students
- Average
high school GPA is 3.43; 74 percent are in the top half of their
class.
- Ninety
percent of freshmen from Iowa; 10 percent from out of state,
primarily in the Midwest.
- One hundred
percent of new full-time freshmen receive some form of institutionally-funded
financial aid; $5.9 million dollars in scholarship money was
awarded in 2005-06.
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Non-Traditional
Programs
Mount Mercy offers five accelerated degree programs for working
adults. These include a major in Health Services Nursing Home
Administration, AP-FASTEP (a degree completion program for RNs)
and majors in accounting, business and marketing through ADVANCE
at Mount Mercy, a joint program with Kirkwood Community College.
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Resources
Its people are the college's greatest resource, a faculty and
staff of nearly 300. Skilled and experienced professional staff
members work alongside faculty members who have distinguished
themselves as researchers, authors, scholars and artists, all
dedicated to teaching. Students benefit from the newly opened
Basile Hall with its advanced science labs and computer-ready
classrooms. Busse Library, with its outstanding collection and
numerous online databases, is open extended hours seven days a
week and can be accessed 24 hours a day via the Internet.
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Library
The 65,000 square foot Busse Library is a bright, plant-filled
facility with over 100 computers and 116,000 volumes. Online resources
are available 24 hours a day to faculty, staff and students.
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Athletics
Mount Mercy College, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics (NAIA) and the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC),
offers intercollegiate competition in men's basketball, baseball,
golf, soccer, cross country and track & field, and women's
basketball, softball, volleyball, golf, cross country, track &
field and soccer. Intramural activities include basketball, volleyball,
golf, flag football, softball and cross country.
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Alumni
Of graduates over the past three years, 95 percent are employed
or in graduate school within six months of graduation, 62 percent
remain in the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area and 91 percent remain
in Iowa.
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The Mount Mercy College Campus Ministry Center supports students
of all faiths in their personal spiritual journeys through pastoral
counseling, spiritual direction and ecumenical worship and fellowship.
Catholic Mass and interdenominational services are held weekly.
Additionally, Campus Ministry fosters an awareness of social justice
and diversity issues through a number of programs and projects,
featuring hands-on service in the Cedar Rapids area and beyond.
Activities include mentoring high school students and immersion
trips during which students work side-by-side with the poor in
Appalachia, inner-city Chicago and Mexico. Traditionally a very
caring community, members of the Mount Mercy family serve the
local community through extensive volunteer involvement in nonprofit
organizations.
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Community
and Economic Impact
- Approximately
$28 million operating budget
- Local officials
estimate an economic multiplier of 2.5, which translates into
a local economic impact of $70 million.
- Mount Mercy
College graduates are an integral part of many essential eastern
Iowa businesses, schools, hospitals and community service organizations.
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Trustees
An independent Board of Trustees has legal authority and responsibility
for Mount Mercy College. Charles Rohde is the chairman of the
board that meets twice each year and includes 26 trustees and
15 Trustee Emeriti.
Mount
Mercy College Board of Trustees:
Charles A.
Rohde, Chair
Barbara A. Knapp, Vice-Chair
Sr. Kathy R. Thornton, Secretary
Sr. Shari M. Sutherland, Assistant Secretary
Martin L. Andreas
Thomas C. Barbee
Barbara A. Barhamand
Dr. Christopher R.L. Blake (ex-officio)
F. James Bradley
Michele M. Busse
Terri A. Christoffersen
Loren L. Coppock
Magda M. Golobic
Robert F. Kazimour
C. John Linge
James M. Nikrant
Sr. Mary Lou Podzimek
H. Thomas Reed
John Rinderknecht
Emmett Scherrman (Past Chair)
Robert R. Schoeberl
Dyan C. Smith
Rev. Msgr. Thomas E. Toale
Sr. Margaret Weigel
Timothy S. White
Brandt A. Worley
Mount
Mercy College Emeritus Trustees:
William A.
Bloomhall II
Lavern T. Busse
Sr.
James Marie Donahue
Josefina L. Durin
Patrick E. Falconio
Carleen M. Grandon
Donald P. Hattery
Dr.
James L. Justice
J. Edward Lundy
JoAnn F. Meyer
Sr.
Susan O’Connor
Judy
S. O’Donnell
Theresa
J. Robinson
Nancy
L. Seifert
Thomas
J. Tauke
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Officers
of the Institution
Dr. Christopher
R.L. Blake
President
Dr. John P.
Marsden
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Debbie K.
Green
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Barbara Parks
Pooley, CPA, CMA
Vice President for Finance and Business Operations
Dianne M.
Austad
Executive Assistant to the President
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Alumni
Board
2005-06
Alumni Board |
| Connie
Keegan Brace '71, President |
Tammy
Bronk Hoeger '02 |
| William
Campbell '89 |
Kendall
Moss Dillon '93 |
Lonna
Phillips Drewelow '86, Ex-Officio |
William
Gross '82 |
Robert
Hackney '81,
Past President |
Tricia
Hoffman-Simanek '98 |
Karen
Woodhouse Jahlas '84 |
Sara
Kendall '90 |
Katie
Kielkucki,
Vice President SGA (Ex-Officio) |
Tammy
Clemenson Koolbeck '86 |
Amy
Pence Linville '91 |
Dr.
Jane C. Meyer '82 |
Karen
Belsley Moore '90, Secretary |
Matthew
Paul '93 |
Maria
Paulsen '86 |
Julia
Read '91 |
Debra
Hearst Roberts '82 |
Lara
Collins Schissel '97 |
Terry Schneekloth '91 |
Ann
Woods Schrader JC'55, '70 |
Mary
Daehm Shaull '86 |
Susan
Hucker Smith '89 |
Dr.
Eric Stenberg '89 |
David
Tegeler '92 |
Kathy
Toborg,
Ex-Officio |
Alice
Swenka Vontalge '90 |
Joel
Yates '86 |
|
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