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Former names | St. Mary's Academy and College Marylhurst College |
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| Motto | Cor Sapientis Quaerit Doctrinam(Latin) The heart of the wise seeks knowledge |
| Type | Private |
| Active | 1893 (1893)–2018 (2018) |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic (Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary) |
| President | Melody Rose[1] |
| Location | ,, United States 45°23′54″N122°38′46″W / 45.39833°N 122.64611°W /45.39833; -122.64611 |
| Campus | Suburban 63 acres (250,000 m2) |
| Colors | Gold and Royal blue[2] |
| Website | marylhurst.edu |
Marylhurst University was a private applied liberal arts and business university inMarylhurst, Oregon. Marylhurst was founded asSt. Mary's College in 1893 and run for many years by theSisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The former campus is located about nine miles south ofPortland,Oregon on theWillamette River. Although Marylhurst University was aRoman Catholic school, it served students of all faiths and backgrounds.
The university offered bachelor's degree completion programs in diverse liberal arts and business fields, andgraduate degrees in such fields as business and nonprofit administration, food systems and society, teaching, art therapy counseling, divinity and applied theology, and interdisciplinary studies. After its establishment in 1893, Marylhurst became the firstwomen'sliberal arts college in thePacific Northwest. In 1974, Marylhurst College became aco-educational institution, and in 1998 it was reorganized as Marylhurst University through the addition of new academic programs.
The university's student population peaked around 2,000 during theGreat Recession of 2007–2009,[3] and declined from 1,409 to 743 in just four years, from fall 2013 to fall 2017.
The university closed at the end of the summer of 2018,[4][3] and this declining enrollment was given as the main reason. Prior to the closure, however, Marylhurst's faculty challenged the narrative of closure as essential.[5]
The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation, arrived in Oregon in 1859.[2] The Sisters came to Oregon fromMontreal at the request of the people andclergy of the state to serve their educational needs, and establishedSt. Mary's Academy in Portland that year.[6]
In 1893, the group started St. Mary's Academy and College[6] as the firstliberal arts college to serve the educational needs of Pacific Northwest women. The school began in downtown Portland, where St. Mary's Academy is still located.[2] The Sisters purchased 63 acres (250,000 m2) betweenLake Oswego andWest Linn in 1908. The Sisters named the pastoral land Marylhurst, which means "Mary's Woods". In 1929 it became the only accredited standard four year college for women in the Pacific Northwest.[7] The college was moved to the new property in 1930, and St. Mary's was renamed Marylhurst College.[6] Starting in 1977 the school was accredited by theNorthwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools.[8]
In 1959, Marylhurst College became an independent institution and formed a Board of Trustees, separate from the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
In 1974, the college transitioned to aco-educational institution and it became the firstliberal arts college in the United States to be designated as a college forlifelong learning.
TheAmerican Art Therapy Association reviewed the program positively numerous times including 1991, 1996 and 2002.[9]
Beginning in 1996,U.S. News & World Report's Guide to America's Best Colleges recognized Marylhurst. The university remained as "unranked" for the Western Region in theU.S. News & World Report college rankings since the mid-1990s.[10][11]
In 1998, Marylhurst College became Marylhurst University,Clackamas County's first university. Several new academic programs were added including a Master of Arts in Applied Theology program, a Bachelor of Music Therapy program, and a cooperative Doctor of Ministry degree program withSan Francisco Theological Seminary. Judith Johansen was named president of the university in 2008 and left in 2013.[12] Melody Rose served as president from August 2014 until late 2018.
In May 2018, the university announced that it would be closing.[4] The university's enrollment had declined significantly in just a few years, from over 1,400 students in 2013 to about half that many students in 2018. The university turned the campus over to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, the religious order with which it is affiliated.[13]
Saint Martin's University was selected to serve as the custodial institution for Marylhurst University. As of Dec. 3, 2018, Marylhurst alumni can access their records and transcripts through Saint Martin's University.[14]
Marylhurst University offered nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.[15] Marylhurst began the Master of Art Therapy program in 1986, the only accredited art therapy program in thePacific Northwest. In 1990, Marylhurst inaugurated itsMaster of Business Administration program and a concentration in interior design was added to the art program. In 2002, the University began to offer a BFA in interior design.
Four online MBA programs were offered by Marylhurst: an MBA, an MBA in Healthcare Management, an MBA in Sustainability, and an MBA in Real Estate.[16]
The school also offered 12 shorter undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, teacher endorsement certificate programs.[17]
Marylhurst had dual-enrollment agreements withPortland State University,Portland Community College[18] andClackamas Community College.[19]
The Art Gym was a contemporary arts exhibition space located on campus. It was the brainchild of Kay Slusarenko, who was the art department chair for 20 years, from 1978 to 1998. With contemporaries Terri Hopkins and Paul Sutinen, she rallied the student body and community support to turn the unused gym into the cultural center that it is now. Each spring the gym displays the year's thesis projects. Since 1980, over 300 artists have shown their work at the gym.[20] Marylhurst University announced it would cease operations in 2018, prompting concern about the Art Gym's future. In July 2018, the Art Gym announced that it would be moving to theOregon College of Art and Craft effective August 1, 2018.[21]
The Oregon Sesquicentennial Film Festival was held at Marylhurst University May 1–10, 2009.[22] The festival was a celebration of the history of Oregon film making. For the festival a 35mm projection booth was constructed on campus in the Villa Maria building. The opening night of the festival was at theMission Theater with an on stage conversation betweenJames Ivory andGus Van Sant.[23]
The films shown at Marylhurst includedSmoke Signals with directorChris Eyre in person;Marked Woman featuringMayo Methot; Talk Radio with writer Tad Savinar in person;The Lusty Men (set in and partially shot at thePendleton Round-up);City Girl byF.W. Murnau, shot on location inAthena, Oregon (with a score composed by John Paul[24] and performed by a string quartet;A Soldier's Tale by Penny Allen, and James Ivory's first international hit filmShakespeare Wallah, with James Ivory attending. The specialOregon Cartoon Institute Day at the festival featuredBill Plympton.[25]
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