Making official a likely union that Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose universities announced earlier this year in the face of financial headwinds sweeping across higher education, presidents of the two Eastern Iowa Catholic campuses Thursday signed a formal agreement to combine their institutions.
The universities will be fully united under St. Ambrose — the bigger and more financially robust of the two, based in Davenport — at the end of the transition period, expected to span 18 months to two years through mid-2026.
Once combined, St. Ambrose — as the nonprofit parent organization — plans to maintain the Mount Mercy campus in Cedar Rapids, its historic name and its separate athletics program competing under the Mustangs mascot.
“I just want to be clear, we're not going to have two sets of Bees flying around here,” St. Ambrose President Amy Novak said during a news conference Thursday on Mount Mercy’s Cedar Rapids campus, referencing her school’s Fighting Bees mascot. “We're going to have Mustangs and Bees, probably competing against each other.”
Both universities’ boards, Novak said, have signed a commitment “that essentially is the first step in a process of combining our two institutions into a single institution.”
“Over the course of the next two years, we will be working alongside one another to bring those two institutions together,” Novak said before joining Mount Mercy President Todd Olson in finalizing the agreement in front of a crowd of faculty and board members, coaches and community leaders.
President Amy Novak of St. Ambrose University and President Todd Olson of Mount Mercy University smile Thursday as they sign papers to combine Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose during a news conference in Cedar Rapids. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Olson told The Gazette the private universities are not making the agreement public.
Although details are being ironed out — and the union still needs approval from the national Higher Learning Commission — the first stage of approvals could come next spring, followed by a transition period during which Mount Mercy would continue to operate as a separate university with its own degree authorization, accreditation and student financial aid.
At the end of the transition period in 2026, the union will debut the “Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University” — the name that will appear on all degrees granted from the former Mount Mercy University.
Novak said it’s too soon to say if the process could cut programs, positions or people
“We are working collaboratively to look at how we potentially move over faculty and staff, but this will be taking time over the next 18 months to two years as we engage in that process,” she said, adding that when St. Ambrose does become sole owner of Mount Mercy, “Those transitions of employees, both on the staff and faculty side, would take place.”
A year before, in 1927, the North Central Association of Colleges accredited St. Ambrose, charting its beginnings back even further — 142 years to 1882, when it first opened as St. Ambrose Seminary/Academy.
The campuses from their respective starts have shared faith-based values centering on student needs and a commitment to serve marginalized populations — providing a solid foundation on which to unite a century later, Novak said Thursday.
ADVERTISING
“This isn't about a one plus one equals two,” she said. “I don't think the term ‘merger’ captures the power of the vision and the work that we've been engaged in. This is about bringing the talent, the expertise, the history, the missional values, the commitments together to make something better collectively.”
Through the union, Novak and Olson said, they plan to expand student options, grow academic offerings, add programs and develop new degree pathways.
“What we've been talking about is what can we do together to strengthen the student experience,” Novak said, citing financial challenges facing all public and private universities — including Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, which closed last year after 181 years and a stretch of financial turmoil.
Generating $5 million less in revenue in 2023 than in 2022, without a parallel drop in expenses, Mount Mercy saw its net assets wane year over year from $86.4 million to $85.4 million, the records show.
That’s well below St. Ambrose’s net assets of $318.1 million — representing a $27.9 million or 10 percent increase over its previous year’s $290.3 million.
St. Ambrose for 2023 reported an endowment of $219.3 million — up $25.2 million or 13 percent from the prior year and $92 million or 72 percent from $127.3 million in 2016.
Mount Mercy for 2023 reported an endowment of $39.4 million, also up from $34.4 million the previous year and $25.1 million in 2016.
On average nationally, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, 55 percent of endowment assets at private institutions are “restricted” — meaning the money can be used only for a specific purpose according to donors.
Mount Mercy’s Olson said administrators are putting “a lot of time and thoughtfulness” into the endowment and philanthropic piece of the union of the two universities.
“We will respect the donor intent of each gift and see that it is being used for the purposes they intended,” he said. “In some cases that's more specific than others. So where there is donor intent that says it's for this particular use, we’ll respect that. Where there's more openness to general student support, we’ll create the flexibility we can.”
Public documents show Olson earned a base salary of $240,000 last year and a total compensation with bonuses and additions of $336,402. Novak reported a base wage of $334,289 and total compensation of $400,604.
St. Ambrose made the U.S. News & World Report’s list of nationally-ranked universities at No. 320 out of 439. Although Mount Mercy didn’t make the national list, it ranked No. 56 out of 167 regional universities in the Midwest.
In fall 2023, Mount Mercy reported an enrollment of 1,449 — down from 1,526 in fall 2022 and 1,849 in fall 2017. St. Ambrose’s enrollment also dipped last fall to 2,705 from 2,751 the year prior and 3,118 in 2017.
Although Novak said administrators plan to continue offering some programs on both campuses, they also are “continuing to do the work of having to be prudent about the types of program offerings we continue to have.”
“Higher education generally … is no longer in a position of offering a plethora of majors with limited enrollment,” she said. “So on both campuses, we're having very difficult conversations, because we have to continue to be fiscally strong stewards of our institution. And that may mean we have some reductions on both campuses of programs.”
It also could mean, she said, “we have some resources now to put toward expansion.”
The prospect of a stronger future has faculty like Mount Mercy Associate Professor of Psychology Rebecca Louison excited about the union with St. Ambrose.
“I think, obviously, there’ll be some discomfort going ahead — with logistics — but I think it’s going to be really positive and beneficial for students,” she said. “I think it gives hope and direction forward.
“The landscape of higher education can look a little glum right now,” Louison said. “But I think that this is energizing.”
www.thegazette.com
The universities will be fully united under St. Ambrose — the bigger and more financially robust of the two, based in Davenport — at the end of the transition period, expected to span 18 months to two years through mid-2026.
Once combined, St. Ambrose — as the nonprofit parent organization — plans to maintain the Mount Mercy campus in Cedar Rapids, its historic name and its separate athletics program competing under the Mustangs mascot.
“I just want to be clear, we're not going to have two sets of Bees flying around here,” St. Ambrose President Amy Novak said during a news conference Thursday on Mount Mercy’s Cedar Rapids campus, referencing her school’s Fighting Bees mascot. “We're going to have Mustangs and Bees, probably competing against each other.”
Both universities’ boards, Novak said, have signed a commitment “that essentially is the first step in a process of combining our two institutions into a single institution.”
“Over the course of the next two years, we will be working alongside one another to bring those two institutions together,” Novak said before joining Mount Mercy President Todd Olson in finalizing the agreement in front of a crowd of faculty and board members, coaches and community leaders.
President Amy Novak of St. Ambrose University and President Todd Olson of Mount Mercy University smile Thursday as they sign papers to combine Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose during a news conference in Cedar Rapids. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Olson told The Gazette the private universities are not making the agreement public.
Although details are being ironed out — and the union still needs approval from the national Higher Learning Commission — the first stage of approvals could come next spring, followed by a transition period during which Mount Mercy would continue to operate as a separate university with its own degree authorization, accreditation and student financial aid.
At the end of the transition period in 2026, the union will debut the “Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University” — the name that will appear on all degrees granted from the former Mount Mercy University.
Novak said it’s too soon to say if the process could cut programs, positions or people
“We are working collaboratively to look at how we potentially move over faculty and staff, but this will be taking time over the next 18 months to two years as we engage in that process,” she said, adding that when St. Ambrose does become sole owner of Mount Mercy, “Those transitions of employees, both on the staff and faculty side, would take place.”
‘Challenge of sustainability’
Mount Mercy dates its inception back 96 years to 1928, when the Sisters of Mercy established in Cedar Rapids the Mount Mercy Junior College under a mission to “unite people with opportunity through high-quality, values-based education.”A year before, in 1927, the North Central Association of Colleges accredited St. Ambrose, charting its beginnings back even further — 142 years to 1882, when it first opened as St. Ambrose Seminary/Academy.
The campuses from their respective starts have shared faith-based values centering on student needs and a commitment to serve marginalized populations — providing a solid foundation on which to unite a century later, Novak said Thursday.
ADVERTISING
“This isn't about a one plus one equals two,” she said. “I don't think the term ‘merger’ captures the power of the vision and the work that we've been engaged in. This is about bringing the talent, the expertise, the history, the missional values, the commitments together to make something better collectively.”
Through the union, Novak and Olson said, they plan to expand student options, grow academic offerings, add programs and develop new degree pathways.
“What we've been talking about is what can we do together to strengthen the student experience,” Novak said, citing financial challenges facing all public and private universities — including Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, which closed last year after 181 years and a stretch of financial turmoil.
Campus finances
St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy began exploring a union late last year — after years of declining enrollment for both campuses and a $3 million deficit for Mount Mercy in 2023, according to publicly-available tax documents.Generating $5 million less in revenue in 2023 than in 2022, without a parallel drop in expenses, Mount Mercy saw its net assets wane year over year from $86.4 million to $85.4 million, the records show.
That’s well below St. Ambrose’s net assets of $318.1 million — representing a $27.9 million or 10 percent increase over its previous year’s $290.3 million.
St. Ambrose for 2023 reported an endowment of $219.3 million — up $25.2 million or 13 percent from the prior year and $92 million or 72 percent from $127.3 million in 2016.
Mount Mercy for 2023 reported an endowment of $39.4 million, also up from $34.4 million the previous year and $25.1 million in 2016.
On average nationally, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, 55 percent of endowment assets at private institutions are “restricted” — meaning the money can be used only for a specific purpose according to donors.
Mount Mercy’s Olson said administrators are putting “a lot of time and thoughtfulness” into the endowment and philanthropic piece of the union of the two universities.
“We will respect the donor intent of each gift and see that it is being used for the purposes they intended,” he said. “In some cases that's more specific than others. So where there is donor intent that says it's for this particular use, we’ll respect that. Where there's more openness to general student support, we’ll create the flexibility we can.”
Public documents show Olson earned a base salary of $240,000 last year and a total compensation with bonuses and additions of $336,402. Novak reported a base wage of $334,289 and total compensation of $400,604.
St. Ambrose made the U.S. News & World Report’s list of nationally-ranked universities at No. 320 out of 439. Although Mount Mercy didn’t make the national list, it ranked No. 56 out of 167 regional universities in the Midwest.
In fall 2023, Mount Mercy reported an enrollment of 1,449 — down from 1,526 in fall 2022 and 1,849 in fall 2017. St. Ambrose’s enrollment also dipped last fall to 2,705 from 2,751 the year prior and 3,118 in 2017.
Although Novak said administrators plan to continue offering some programs on both campuses, they also are “continuing to do the work of having to be prudent about the types of program offerings we continue to have.”
“Higher education generally … is no longer in a position of offering a plethora of majors with limited enrollment,” she said. “So on both campuses, we're having very difficult conversations, because we have to continue to be fiscally strong stewards of our institution. And that may mean we have some reductions on both campuses of programs.”
It also could mean, she said, “we have some resources now to put toward expansion.”
The prospect of a stronger future has faculty like Mount Mercy Associate Professor of Psychology Rebecca Louison excited about the union with St. Ambrose.
“I think, obviously, there’ll be some discomfort going ahead — with logistics — but I think it’s going to be really positive and beneficial for students,” she said. “I think it gives hope and direction forward.
“The landscape of higher education can look a little glum right now,” Louison said. “But I think that this is energizing.”
Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose to combine into single university
Making official a likely union Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose universities announced earlier this year in the face of financial headwinds sweeping across higher education, presidents of the two Eastern Iowa Catholic campuses Thursday signed a formal agreement to combine their institutions.
www.thegazette.com
