Recent Accomplishments
“Mercyhurst is an institution on the move. The reason it is an institution on the move is that we are all investing in it. We are investing talent, time and treasure to move this institution into a future alive with possibilities, and these investments have translated into some very significant accomplishments.” – Dr. Tom Gamble, president Mercyhurst College
Here are just some of the accomplishments the college has celebrated in the past few years.
Academic Programs
- New master’s program in secondary education
- Approved a new master’s program in exercise science and hired a new faculty member to direct it
- Approved a new master’s program in reading and will search for a new faculty member for that program
- Created a new interdisciplinary minor in digital media
- Created a new interdisciplinary minor in sustainability studies
- Explored hiring Dr. David Dausey, Mercyhurst grad, Yale Ph.D. and professor at Carnegie Mellon, to create and lead a public health program at Mercyhurst College to start in the fall of 2011
- Made substantial improvements to its pre-law program through asking attorneys Fryling, and Schultz to strengthen the program; they have increased the number of pre-law majors to 45 currently – well above any previous time in Mercyhurst history.
- Made substantial improvements to the pre-med program under the direction of Dr. Steve Mauro - of the 25 Mercyhurst students applying to health professional programs last year, 21, or 84 percent, have been accepted and the seven students accepted into medical school this year are the highest number on record at Mercyhurst for a single year
- Added four new allied health programs including a BSN at Mercyhurst North East
Reputation and Enrollment
- Jumped ahead 18 slots in the U.S. News and World Report rankings from the 2010 ranking to the 2011 ranking
- Created a series of team-taught interdisciplinary courses so that every Mercyhurst freshman will have the opportunity to learn from among the best faculty on the campus
- Achieved record-setting institution-wide enrollment
Centers of Excellence
- Created, and endowed, the Evelyn Lincoln Institute for Ethics and Society
- Created, and endowed, the Center for Mercy and Catholic Studies
- Created the Center for Applied Politics – which we hope to endow
Facilities
- Built a new state-of-the-art human anatomy laboratory at the Janet Miller building in North East
- Built a new exercise physiology laboratory for the sports medicine program
- Built a new 300-bed freshman residence hall on the Erie campus
- Built a new 150-bed freshman residence hall on the North East campus
- Made significant improvements to Highland Square student housing complex
- Made substantial improvements to the student recreation center
- Completed significant renovations to Egan Dining Hall
- Added three new science labs at Mercyhurst North East
International and Study Abroad
- Hosted the first-ever international academic conference on intelligence studies in Dungarvan, Ireland
- For the first time sent Mercyhurst College students and faculty for an entire term of international study in Dungarvan, Ireland
- Launched the Mercyhurst at Taos, NM, archaeology field school and will soon expand it to other disciplines and departments
Research
- Experienced an unprecedented amount of faculty-led undergraduate research
- Expanded the research contract program and created a set of faculty fellows on presumptive six-course loads
Partnerships
- Entered into a partnership with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine for student medical care and sports medicine consultation
- Entered into a partnership with Lake View Country Club for expanded internship and employment opportunities for Mercyhurst students
- Created a new partnership with the Booker T. Washington Center to expand educational opportunities in the Erie central city area
- Hosted the biannual symposium for the Conference for Mercy Higher Education
Fundraising, Grants and Finances
- Received more than $5 million in faculty grants and contracts
- Achieved unprecedented fundraising performance – in fact, we will successfully close phase I of the 50-million-dollar capital campaign a year before schedule
- Received Congressional funding for the newly created Asperger’s program
- Received a three year Walmart/CIC grant to increase the number of our two-year transfers from North East, West and Corry who complete their four-year degrees in Erie
- Achieved significant improvements to its “aging accounts-receivable”
- Converted from per-credit to flat-tuition billing on the Erie campus and implemented an online billing and payment system college-wide
Community Service and Green Initiatives
- Was named most dedicated chapter to Community Service – Sigma Alpha Pi National Honor Society of Leadership and Success
- Earned Generation E Green Business Award
- Implemented a commitment to purchase 100 percent of our electrical energy consumption from wind farms
- Created a sustainable agriculture research station at Mercyhurst
