• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Business / Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids becomes a university

Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids becomes a university

August 24, 2010 By Dar Danielson

An eastern Iowa school is the second in the state this month to change from a college to a university. Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids became Mount Mercy University Monday following in the footsteps of Clarke College in Dubuque, which became Clarke University. Mt. Mercy president, Christopher Blake, says it’s an effort to draw M-B-A and other grad students to the Catholic school that has primarily been known as former women’s college with a good nursing program.

“There is a challenge there for us and part of our marketing strategy will be to make sure that people do understand, but when I travel around the country people know Mt. Mercy graduates in their places of work, and they certainly know that while our nursing program is wonderful, that we also produce students of many different professional skills,” Blake says, “So if I can get that message out, I believe over time we will be understood to be a university where we certainly once were a women’s college many decades ago but we have a much bigger brief now.”

Blake says the change comes at a time when more adults are returning to school for degrees in fields such as nursing, education, and counseling. “We’ve living in a fast-changing, globally connected world. Our lives and our economy is connected to others around the world, and so today’s 21st century student, who may have more than one career, they may have two or three careers in their working life, they need to have the qualifications to become leaders to know how to contribute to the lives of the community and the economy, and so Mt. Mercy’s ready for that,” Blake says.

The student body of 1,600 now includes 200 graduate students in education, business and counseling programs. A nursing program is on the way.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Business, Education

Featured Stories

Speakers at trooper’s funeral describe Sgt. Smith as selfless, man of faith

Iowa unlikely to join 26 states with hands-free driving laws

Reynolds says Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause manageable

Iowa State Patrol tactical team leader killed in Grundy Center stand-off

Finalists chosen for the state’s top burger

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

High school sports and activities to pause for one week in July

Hawkeyes add post player

UNI’s Warren agrees to contract extension

Iowa State signs Kansas transfer

Drake elevates Pohlman to head women’s basketball coach

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC