University of Mary

University of Mary Bell Tower Sculpture

University of Mary (commonly referred to as “U-Mary”) is a private, Christian, Catholic, Benedictine university located in southeast Bismarck. Offering undergraduate, master, and doctoral degree programs, the university is the largest degree-granting institution in the region. The University serves more than 3,000 students of “all faiths and backgrounds” with operations in North Dakota, Arizona, Montana, Minnesota, Kansas, Rome and Peru, according to its website.

The Benedictine Sisters of the Annunciation founded and sponsor the university.

History

Originating in 1947, Mary College began offering formal two-year degrees in 1955.

In March 1958, the first $1 million phase in a multi-phase construction project commenced with leveling land at the Convent of the Annunciation, located seven miles southeast of city limits along Apple Creek. First to be completed was a 3-story 250×46 foot mixed-use dormitory schoolhouse for residential high school students, opening as the Annunciation Priory High School in fall 1959. The school served freshman and sophomore female students, who would automatically transfer to Saint Mary’s Central High School their junior year.

The project also called for a college building and multi-purpose motherhouse for the Benedictine Sisters, moving from their current home at 304 W Avenue A. New York’s world-famous Marcel Breuer was architect, modeling the buildings after similar work he did at St. John’s College in Collegeville, Minnesota.

The final phase of the project completed in 1959, at which time Mary College was chartered and began offering four-year degree programs, mostly focused on nursing, theology, and teaching. Originally an all-female institution, men were admitted to Mary College for the first time in 1963.

Enrollment in 1959 consisted of a little more than 100 students, doubling by 1965. At that time, expansion plans commenced. Mary College opened a new $4.5 million three-story building overlooking the Missouri River Valley in fall 1968.

In September 2012, the University announced plans for a $40 million expansion and renovation project.