Mount Saint Mary College (New Hampshire)
Encyclopedia
Mount Saint Mary College in Hooksett
, New Hampshire
was a Roman Catholic college
for women founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy
. The college was situated on a 550 acres (222.6 ha) campus approximately 60 miles (96.6 km) northwest of Boston
. It ceased operations in 1978 due to the increasing trend away from single sex higher education which in turn led to a decline in enrollment from a high of about 500 students to just under 200 at the time of the closing. This decline inevitably was the cause of financial difficulties from which the school never recovered.
degrees in biology
, business
, dietetics, early childhood
education, elementary education, English
, French
, history
, home economics
, mathematics
, nursing
(in conjunction with Catholic Medical Center
, a Sisters of Mercy-affiliated hospital in nearby Manchester
), secondary education (in accordance with a specific major), social welfare, Spanish
and special education
. Associate's degree
s were conferred in business
, early childhood education
, home economics
and social welfare. The college was one of eight founding members of the New Hampshire College and University Council, which today is a 23-member consortium of two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning in New Hampshire that engage in such cooperative practices as cross-registration
, cultural and social exchanges, interlibrary lending
, and joint research projects and symposiums. For many years, "The Mount" functioned as the sister school of the formerly all-male Saint Anselm College
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
, and the two institutions carried on a particularly close academic and social affiliation.
as well as mahogany
and oak
interiors purchased in 1909 by the Sisters of Mercy from the prominent Galt family. The already existing Mount Saint Mary Academy, a preparatory school for girls, was relocated here, ultimately transitioning into college status in 1934. Throughout the existence of the school, this building housed nearly all academic and administrative facilities as well as several auditoriums, a ballroom, a chapel, a dining hall, a gymnasium, and dormitory rooms for resident students. Separate buildings constructed in the early 1960s included McAuley Library (which at the time of closing contained approximately 40,000 volumes and 400 periodical subscriptions) and a resident student complex consisting of three dormitory buildings interconnected to a central student union building. At the northwest edge of the campus was a turn of the century colonial style house that served as the convent
for the Sisters of Mercy. There were also about half a dozen smaller structures that served various auxiliary purposes for the college community. Approximately 350 students could be accommodated in the college residence facilities.
) and Rivier College
(Nashua
), the latter a Catholic school operated by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. The other four, along with Mount Saint Mary, have ceased operations: Castle College (Windham
), a two-year school that was also operated by the Sisters of Mercy; Notre Dame College
(Manchester), a four year school operated by the Sisters of the Holy Cross; Pierce College for Women (Concord
), a two-year school, and Stoneleigh College (Rye
), also a two-year school. Castle and Notre Dame both became fully coeducational, but even this policy could not sustain their existence.
s. For its part, Notre Dame College, the other four year school that closed its doors, was not saved by coeducation because its campus was completely hemmed in by private homes in a residential neighborhood, thereby precluding any opportunities to expand its buildings and resources. Mount Saint Mary did not have such a problem with its sprawling campus of 550 acres (2.2 km²), some of which it could have sold off as a means of stabilizing its finances, as most of the land was unoccupied. However, unlike Rivier College, which not only adopted coeducation but also created baccalaureate as well as masters degree programs in such fields as administration and management, communications, computer science and technology, fine arts, and additional health science fields which could be pursued during the days, evenings and weekends, Mount Saint Mary remained a traditional undergraduate day college for women with degree programs focused only on the liberal arts, nursing and teacher education. In effect, some would argue that the school in many ways had made itself demographically obsolete. Others have claimed that in contrast to Notre Dame and Rivier colleges, which were operated by less prestigious Catholic orders and whose students tended to be the daughters of local working class families, Mount Saint Mary was operated by the Sisters of Mercy (who are often compared to the male Jesuit
order as the great educators in the Catholic world), while its students were more often the daughters of upper middle class families primarily from the Boston metropolitan area
. Consequently, the school would steadfastly resist abandoning its genteel image and traditions for the sake of survival, and in May 1978, after 44 years of educating young women, Mount Saint Mary graduated its final class of students.
), a private institution in Manchester, purchased the land to serve as its North Campus. Throughout the rest of the decade, the North Campus housed all graduate programs for the college, as well as the undergraduate program in human services and the English as a Second Language program for international students. However, by the early 1990s, New Hampshire College, preparing to assume university status, decided to consolidate all its programs at its main site in Manchester, and the property was once again placed on the open market. Following its purchase by a group of private investors, what was once the campus of Mount Saint Mary College has since taken on a diversity of functions: Mercy Hall is now a luxury apartment complex, and the building is aptly named the Mount Saint Mary Apartments. McAuley Library now serves as the public library for the town of Hooksett, and the convent is once again a private residence. One of the auxiliary buildings is presently a day care and early childhood education center, another is a private residence, one has been demolished, and another functions as the maintenance and security headquarters for the apartment complex. The resident student complex had long fallen into neglect and disrepair after New Hampshire College sold the campus, and has since been demolished.
Today, Mount Saint Mary alumnae maintain an active association, including a frequently accessed Facebook site. Alumnae reunions are held on the campus of Saint Anselm College simultaneously with the reunions of that institution.
Hooksett, New Hampshire
Hooksett is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,451 at the 2010 census. The town is located between Manchester, the state's largest city, and Concord, the state capital...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
was a Roman Catholic college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
for women founded in 1934 by the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
. The college was situated on a 550 acres (222.6 ha) campus approximately 60 miles (96.6 km) northwest of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. It ceased operations in 1978 due to the increasing trend away from single sex higher education which in turn led to a decline in enrollment from a high of about 500 students to just under 200 at the time of the closing. This decline inevitably was the cause of financial difficulties from which the school never recovered.
Academic offerings
Mount Saint Mary offered baccalaureateBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
degrees in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, dietetics, early childhood
Early childhood
For the video game rating with a similar age group see ESRBEarly childhood is a stage in human development. It generally includes toddlerhood and some time afterwards. Play age is an unspecific designation approximately within the scope of early childhood.-Education:Infants and toddlers experience...
education, elementary education, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, home economics
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
(in conjunction with Catholic Medical Center
Catholic Medical Center
Catholic Medical Center is a hospital located in the West Side area of Manchester, New Hampshire. Catholic Medical Center is a 330-bed, full-service health care facility. CMC offers medical-surgical care with more than 29 subspecialties, inpatient and outpatient services, diagnostic imaging and a...
, a Sisters of Mercy-affiliated hospital in nearby Manchester
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
), secondary education (in accordance with a specific major), social welfare, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
. Associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
s were conferred in business
Business education
Business education involves teaching students the fundamentals, theories, and processes of business. Education in this field occurs at several levels, including secondary education and higher education or university education. Approximately 38% of student enroll in one or more business courses...
, early childhood education
Early childhood education
Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...
, home economics
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
and social welfare. The college was one of eight founding members of the New Hampshire College and University Council, which today is a 23-member consortium of two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning in New Hampshire that engage in such cooperative practices as cross-registration
Cross-registration
Cross-registration in United States higher education is a system allowing students at one university, college, or faculty within a university to take individual courses for credit at another institution or faculty, typically in the same region....
, cultural and social exchanges, interlibrary lending
Interlibrary loan
Interlibrary loan is a service whereby a user of one library can borrow books or receive photocopies of documents that are owned by another library...
, and joint research projects and symposiums. For many years, "The Mount" functioned as the sister school of the formerly all-male Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
in Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
, and the two institutions carried on a particularly close academic and social affiliation.
Campus
The campus of Mount Saint Mary was dominated by Mercy Hall, a five-level (one below ground, four above ground) former mansion featuring white Italian marbleMarble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
as well as mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
interiors purchased in 1909 by the Sisters of Mercy from the prominent Galt family. The already existing Mount Saint Mary Academy, a preparatory school for girls, was relocated here, ultimately transitioning into college status in 1934. Throughout the existence of the school, this building housed nearly all academic and administrative facilities as well as several auditoriums, a ballroom, a chapel, a dining hall, a gymnasium, and dormitory rooms for resident students. Separate buildings constructed in the early 1960s included McAuley Library (which at the time of closing contained approximately 40,000 volumes and 400 periodical subscriptions) and a resident student complex consisting of three dormitory buildings interconnected to a central student union building. At the northwest edge of the campus was a turn of the century colonial style house that served as the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
for the Sisters of Mercy. There were also about half a dozen smaller structures that served various auxiliary purposes for the college community. Approximately 350 students could be accommodated in the college residence facilities.
Other institutions for women in New Hampshire
At one point, Mount Saint Mary was one of seven all-female institutions of higher education in the state of New Hampshire. Only two of these still exist, and have since become coeducational: Colby–Sawyer College (New LondonNew London, New Hampshire
New London is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,397 at the 2010 census.The town center, where 1,415 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the New London census-designated place , and is located on a hilltop along New Hampshire Route 114 north...
) and Rivier College
Rivier College
Rivier College is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Nashua, New Hampshire.-History:Named in honor of the blessed Anne Marie Rivier, foundress of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, Rivier College was founded in 1933 by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary in Hudson, New Hampshire...
(Nashua
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
), the latter a Catholic school operated by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. The other four, along with Mount Saint Mary, have ceased operations: Castle College (Windham
Windham, New Hampshire
Windham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,592 at the 2010 census.- History :The area was initially home to the Pawtucket Native Americans. Scottish immigrants began to settle in the area in 1719. The region was known as “Nutfield” and included what...
), a two-year school that was also operated by the Sisters of Mercy; Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College (New Hampshire)
Notre Dame College was a Roman Catholic college located in Manchester, New Hampshire and affiliated with the Sisters of Holy Cross of Montreal, Canada...
(Manchester), a four year school operated by the Sisters of the Holy Cross; Pierce College for Women (Concord
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
), a two-year school, and Stoneleigh College (Rye
Rye, New Hampshire
Rye is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,298 at the 2010 census.-History:The first settlement in New Hampshire, originally named Pannaway, was established in 1623 at Odiorne's Point. The first settler in Rye was William Berry...
), also a two-year school. Castle and Notre Dame both became fully coeducational, but even this policy could not sustain their existence.
Closing of the college
It remains speculative as to whether Mount Saint Mary could have done anything in order to preserve itself as an institution of higher education. Most of the all-female schools in New Hampshire that closed offered only two-year programs of study, and were simply unable to compete with the greater resources and less expensive tuition offered by nearby community collegeCommunity college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
s. For its part, Notre Dame College, the other four year school that closed its doors, was not saved by coeducation because its campus was completely hemmed in by private homes in a residential neighborhood, thereby precluding any opportunities to expand its buildings and resources. Mount Saint Mary did not have such a problem with its sprawling campus of 550 acres (2.2 km²), some of which it could have sold off as a means of stabilizing its finances, as most of the land was unoccupied. However, unlike Rivier College, which not only adopted coeducation but also created baccalaureate as well as masters degree programs in such fields as administration and management, communications, computer science and technology, fine arts, and additional health science fields which could be pursued during the days, evenings and weekends, Mount Saint Mary remained a traditional undergraduate day college for women with degree programs focused only on the liberal arts, nursing and teacher education. In effect, some would argue that the school in many ways had made itself demographically obsolete. Others have claimed that in contrast to Notre Dame and Rivier colleges, which were operated by less prestigious Catholic orders and whose students tended to be the daughters of local working class families, Mount Saint Mary was operated by the Sisters of Mercy (who are often compared to the male Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
order as the great educators in the Catholic world), while its students were more often the daughters of upper middle class families primarily from the Boston metropolitan area
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
. Consequently, the school would steadfastly resist abandoning its genteel image and traditions for the sake of survival, and in May 1978, after 44 years of educating young women, Mount Saint Mary graduated its final class of students.
After closure
For nearly three years, the college property was placed on the market for sale. In 1981, New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University, also known as SNHU, is a private university in Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and also has numerous specialized...
), a private institution in Manchester, purchased the land to serve as its North Campus. Throughout the rest of the decade, the North Campus housed all graduate programs for the college, as well as the undergraduate program in human services and the English as a Second Language program for international students. However, by the early 1990s, New Hampshire College, preparing to assume university status, decided to consolidate all its programs at its main site in Manchester, and the property was once again placed on the open market. Following its purchase by a group of private investors, what was once the campus of Mount Saint Mary College has since taken on a diversity of functions: Mercy Hall is now a luxury apartment complex, and the building is aptly named the Mount Saint Mary Apartments. McAuley Library now serves as the public library for the town of Hooksett, and the convent is once again a private residence. One of the auxiliary buildings is presently a day care and early childhood education center, another is a private residence, one has been demolished, and another functions as the maintenance and security headquarters for the apartment complex. The resident student complex had long fallen into neglect and disrepair after New Hampshire College sold the campus, and has since been demolished.
Today, Mount Saint Mary alumnae maintain an active association, including a frequently accessed Facebook site. Alumnae reunions are held on the campus of Saint Anselm College simultaneously with the reunions of that institution.