By Ron Bernas
University of Detroit Mercy is the only institution of higher education in the world that can boast having both the Jesuits and the Religious Sisters of Mercy as its founders.
Separately, the two religious orders have impressive histories of providing education to all people, service to the underserved and leadership in the community. Together, they support and enhance each other to create a unique, Catholic-centered education for a diverse group of students from metro Detroit, across the United States and around the world.
The Society of Jesus has a history in Detroit that dates to the 1600s. In 1877, at the invitation of Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess of Detroit, the Jesuits established Detroit College. Located on a bustling stretch of Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit, the college quickly expanded into the University of Detroit. In 1927, under the guidance of Fr. John P. McNichols, the University moved many of its programs to a sprawling campus at Livernois and Six Mile Road, which is more commonly known in Detroit as McNichols Road, named after the forward-thinking former university president.
In 1940, the Religious Sisters of Mercy, headed by Mother Mary Carmelita Manning, R.S.M., established their Detroit Province also in west Detroit. Mercy College opened its doors in 1941 to prepare young women for careers in nursing and teaching so that they might contribute intelligently and effectively to the welfare of society. Over the years, it expanded into a comprehensive liberal arts college that served both men and women.
The Jesuits and the Sisters of Mercy established their institutions separately to improve the lives of men and women through higher education. They were also committed to the city of Detroit which, at the time, was a rapidly expanding urban center. Students would benefit from learning in a dynamic urban community and gain valuable experience that only a major metropolitan area could offer. At the same time, Detroit and the region would benefit from the talents and skill of graduates.
In 1990, University of Detroit and Mercy College of Detroit combined their resources and operations to form University of Detroit Mercy, a consolidated institution with the same driving forces. This consolidation allowed the University to both maximize and expand academic effectiveness, while improving efficiencies in administration. This consolidation has been widely recognized as an effective, creative response to the challenges that faced and continue to face private higher education.
Today, Detroit Mercy has seven schools across four campuses, three of them in Detroit. Undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs are located at the McNichols Campus. Detroit Mercy Law and Detroit Mercy Dental have their own campuses nearby and a new campus in the Detroit suburb of Novi houses some health professions and criminal justice programs. In addition, partnership with Aquinas College in Grand Rapids provides a Detroit Mercy Nursing degree to students on Aquinas’ Grand Rapids campus. Graduates of the University are seen in leadership positions in industries from the automotive field to business to communications to the law and dentistry.
An aerial view of the McNichols Campus of University of Detroit Mercy. Photo courtesy of the University of Detroit Mercy and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
Detroit Mercy’s Engineering programs are well-known. The University had one of the first co-op programs in the country and attracts students from across the United States. Each year, students from the College of Engineering & Science and the McAuley School of Nursing students work together to create a device to help improve the lives of people with disabilities in the Detroit community. This capstone project puts real people at the center of design issues and is just one of many ways the University helps the community. Our College of Health Professions & McAuley School of Nursing offer many programs from Nurse Anesthesia to Health Services Administration to Doctor of Nursing Practice to Clinical Nurse Specialist. The Physician Assistant program was the first in Michigan and celebrates its 50th year in 2022.
In addition, the Theatre program has produced national-award-winning productions for more than 50 years and our alumni can be seen on stage, and in movies and television regularly.
In 2019, the University completed its most successful campaign ever, raising more than $115 million for scholarships, faculty and programming, facilities and unrestricted operational funds.
In 2020, the University announced a major campus renovation project that will modernize and upgrade nearly every building on its flagship campus and includes a complete re-imagining of its student union, which is set to open this year. The project will provide greater efficiency and sustainability and eliminate buildings for which maintenance was becoming too costly.
Students are responding to this energy on our campuses: The fall 2022 freshman class was the largest the University welcomed in the last 12 years; one third are first-generation college students.
This energy and momentum, that started under President Antoine M. Garibaldi, is what the University’s 26th president Donald B. Taylor expects to build on. He took office July 1, 2022, saying “Everything is in place to take the next step to be the university of choice for metro Detroit and beyond.”
Ron Bernas is director of communications for University of Detroit Mercy and editor of Conversations in Jesuit Higher Education.
The featured cover photo (above) is courtesy of University of Detroit Mercy.