St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids took their first steps toward becoming one institution Thursday.
The university leaders signed a commitment in which Mount Mercy will eventually come under the ownership of St. Ambrose while still retaining its campus, name and offerings to students.
The proposal started about a year and a half ago as a conversation between St. Ambrose President Amy Novak, Mount Mercy President Todd Olson and other Catholic university leaders about the complex situation higher education finds itself in today. The leaders say the talks have solidified into an agreement that, once complete, will make both campuses more stable and expand their opportunities for students, faculty and the communities they serve.
“We are committed to making this a stronger experience for students, and what we hope is for sustainable environments for both Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose together,” Novak said. “Because ultimately, both of us apart, the challenge of sustainability just continues to increase, but together, we have a stronger capacity to really move the needle for the student experience to grow, and to be strategic about developing curriculum that we believe will best prepare students for the [world].”
While already approved by both institutions’ boards of trustees, the agreement still needs approval from the Higher Learning Commission, the Department of Education and other regulators, Novak said. Getting those approvals as well as the completion of other regulatory steps should take about a year, she said.
After that time has passed, the universities will begin transitioning from two separate entities into one institution. St. Ambrose will operate Mount Mercy with the Cedar Rapids institution still maintaining its own accreditation and degree authorization, according to a news release.
If everything goes according to schedule, the two universities will be fully combined under St. Ambrose by mid-2026. Mount Mercy will retain its own campus, certain distinct programs, extra-curricular activities and athletics program, becoming the Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University.
As per the agreement signed Thursday, members of Mount Mercy’s Board of Trustees and the Sisters of Mercy will be integrated into the St. Ambrose Board of Trustees, Novak said. An advisory board will also be formed to inform the university on the needs of the Cedar Rapids campus community and further ideas for collaboration between the campuses.
Details are still being worked out as to the combination’s impacts on Mount Mercy faculty and administration, but Olson said the majority of faculty and staff will be able to stay with the institution through and after the transition period. Once St. Ambrose becomes the sole owner of Mount Mercy, which Novak said is expected to occur in summer 2025, the transition of technically bringing Mount Mercy staff and faculty into St. Ambrose will take place.
Novak said they are exploring joint curriculums in order to have single programs offered to all students, based on one campus and supported by faculty on the other. Colleges and universities across the U.S., regardless of combination or not, cannot afford to offer a “plethora of majors with limited enrollment,” she said, and those involved in the combination are having “difficult conversations” about how to keep both campuses fiscally strong.
“That may mean we have some reductions on both campuses and programs,” Novak said. “It also may mean we have some resources now to put toward expansion of initiatives on both campuses.”
Faculty and staff have been involved in the combination since the universities announced their exploration of the idea in May, Olson said, and 14 integration teams have been created so far to better engage in the process. Novak said there’s been a lot of power and joy in bringing different groups of people together to plan this merger.
“There’s been a few fears but overall I’m really encouraged by the openness to collaboration,” Novak said. “I don’t know that at all universities that would characterize the work that would be asked of people in this time, but we have had a remarkable outpouring of support from our faculty and staff, as they’ve begun to engage in this work with us.”
The universities are also seeing engagement and excitement from their students, Novak said, with campus ministries discussing ways to learn from one another and possibilities for further collaboration between student groups and clubs. Olson said they’ve already started discussing shared service trips and other methods of having students on either campus work together.
With a course-sharing agreement previously announced in the spring, Novak said the colleges have complementary programs and differing areas of study that can be strengthened through this combination as well, giving students more opportunities.
As the two institutions have navigated plans to become one, Olson said he is confident this combination under the St. Ambrose University name is the best path forward. He and others at Mount Mercy have worked to ensure that the university still shows its history, tradition and values while strengthening the Catholic mission it shares with St. Ambrose.
“St. Ambrose is frankly bringing a level of strength, capability, stability, that will enable us both to move forward here and they are a significantly larger organization, and they are bringing a level of sort of energy, investments, vision, et cetera, that I believe is a singular opportunity,” Olson said.
Brooklyn Draisey is a Report for America corps member covering higher education for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
