User:Lotje/sandbox/Mercy College (Mercy or Mercy NY)

Mercy College (Mercy or Mercy NY) is a private research university with its main campus in Dobbs Ferry, New York and additional locations in Manhattan, Bronx, and Yorktown Heights. Mercy College was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy. Mercy College has five schools: Business, Education, Health & Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Social & Behavioral Sciences, and offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs. The university had 11,295 students enrolled in Fall 2015. The student body comes from 43 states and 54 countries.

Mercy College is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Coast Conference (ECC). Mercy College's athletic teams compete in Division II of the NCAA and are known collectively as the Mercy Mavericks.

History
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1950, Mercy College became a four-year college offering programs leading to the baccalaureate degree in 1961. The College was accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1968. In the next half-decade, Mercy College set a course for its future with a series of actions including declaring itself independent and co-educational. In addition, it doubled the size of the existing physical plant and initiated the first of many community outreach efforts. Mercy College in the 1970s broadened its outreach through the establishment of extension centers and branch campuses throughout communities in Westchester County and New York City.

Mercy College was authorized to offer its first graduate program, nursing, in 1981. Since then, over 30 diverse graduate programs have been introduced, and in 2006, the College was granted authorization to offer its first doctoral program in physical therapy. The College expanded its offerings to include online programs in the 1990s, and was soon granted the ability to offer entire degree programs online. Thousands of Mercy College students take one or all of their courses online through the more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs offered.

In 2004, Timothy L. Hall, the former president of Austin Peay State University, as well as the former provost of University of Mississippi, became the 12th president of Mercy College.

In January 2017, founding Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western New Mexico University, as well as a former Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Dr. José Herrera, was appointed the new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs of Mercy College.

In September 2018, Mercy College appointed former president of Tuskegee University Brian L. Johnson, Ph.D. as Vice President of the Mercy College Manhattan Campus.

Absorption of College of New Rochelle
In early 2019, Mercy College and College of New Rochelle announced that College of New Rochelle would be absorbed into Mercy College before Fall 2019, including College of New Rochelle's students, faculty, programs, some facilities, as well as transcripts, history and legacy of CNR alumnae/i. Mercy College would become the repository of CNR documents.

Dobbs Ferry main campus


The main campus is in Dobbs Ferry, New York, overlooking the Hudson River. The campus encompasses 66 acres alongside the Hudson River in Dobbs Ferry, New York, a suburb of Westchester County, 25 miles north of New York City. In addition to academic and administrative buildings, it houses the College’s residence and athletics buildings. In 2011, Mercy College bought the Our Lady of Victory Academy building after the school closed. Dobbs Ferry students enjoy all the nearby shopping and restaurants, just steps from campus, as well as biking, jogging or walk along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that runs through campus. The Dobbs Ferry main campus is just a short walk from the Ardsley-on-Hudson Station of the Metro-North Hudson Line, making Grand Central Terminal in New York City accessible in less than 30 minutes. In December 2015, the College opened a new 350-bed, state-of-the-art residence hall complex that includes a 5,000-square-foot fitness center facility, and student commons with shops.

Mercy College hosted the Third Round and Quarterfinals of the 2017 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships at Mercy Field on the Dobbs Ferry main campus.

Manhattan
The Manhattan site is situated in the heart of Manhattan at Herald Square and occupies two floors at 66 W 35th St. In 2019, Mercy College expanded its Manhattan site to more than 95,000 square feet.

Bronx
The Bronx site occupies 125,000 square feet at the Hutchinson Metro Center, a rapidly developing complex of corporate and health care organizations and businesses.

Yorktown Heights
In 1979, the Yorktown site of Mercy College was moved to its permanent facility at the intersection of Route 202 and Strang Boulevard. This beautifully landscaped building was renovated for college use. The branch library of Mercy College on Mercy College's Yorktown site has been designated a federal depository for government publications. In Yorktown Heights, students have access to Northern Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess and Fairfield Counties. The site is close to Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, which offers extensive outdoor recreational activities.

Endowment
Mercy College's financial endowment was valued at $245.6 million in 2018, putting the university at #286 among largest endowments in the United States and Canada.

Academics
With regard to the average class size, 94 percent of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students and 62 percent have fewer than 20 students. There are 213 full-time professors with a significant majority holding the highest degree in their respective fields, Fulbright Scholars, published and national best-selling authors, and experts.

Academic divisions
Mercy College comprises five schools:
 * School of Business
 * School of Education
 * School of Health & Natural Sciences
 * School of Liberal Arts
 * School of Social & Behavioral Sciences

Mercy College offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, including more than two dozen that can be completed online. The faculty comprises 210 full-time professors with a significant majority holding the highest degree in their respective fields, Fulbright Scholars, published and national best-selling authors, and experts.

Mercy College runs the Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) Program, a mentoring program that aims to maximize students’ success through comprehensive collaboration between students and professional mentors, and to address the national agenda to raise the number of college graduates in America. PACT students are provided professional mentors who facilitate integrated support for academic, career, and personal growth. Together, student and mentor create a customized plan. Mercy offers an Honors Program for high achieving students.

Reputation and rankings

 * Mercy College has been recognized as providing one of the top online learning undergraduate programs by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.


 * Mercy College tied for sixth place on the list for best “campus ethnic diversity” in the northern region by U.S. News & World Report in 2017.


 * Barron's ranks Mercy College a "best buy" and “competitive” in college education in 2014.


 * Mercy College was featured on Washington Monthly’s 2015 Best Bang for the Buck Rankings.


 * Mercy College's MBA program has been listed in Princeton Reviews Best 296 Business Schools in 2017.


 * Mercy College is among universities and colleges nationwide named a "best buy" in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2016.


 * According to data from The New York Times in 2019, Mercy College ranked among "selective private colleges" yielding the greatest overall social mobility; this data reflects the share of all students who came from lower-income families and ended up in higher-income families after completing their education.


 * Although Mercy College School of Business does not fully offer an online MBA program, nonetheless the School's MBA program has been ranked among the best online MBA programs by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.


 * Ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for "Best Online Graduate Business Programs (excluding MBA)," 2018 edition.


 * Ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for "Best Online Graduate Education Programs," 2018 edition.


 * Ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for "Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs," 2018 edition.


 * Ranked #88 in Occupational Therapy in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.


 * Ranked #193 in Physical Therapy in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.


 * Ranked #165 in Physician Assistant in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019


 * Ranked #199 in Speech-Language Pathology in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019


 * Ranked #199 in Best Nursing Schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019.


 * In 2018, Mercy College was featured on "best colleges for your money" list in Money magazine rankings.

Admissions
Peterson's classed Mercy College's admissions process as "moderately difficult". Undergraduate acceptance rate was 66% in Fall 2015. The average high school GPA of incoming freshmen was 84.75/100 (3.4/4.0) in Fall 2015. Mercy College's School of Business had a 68% acceptance rate in 2017. The MBA program's admission rate in Fall 2018 was 27%.

Demographics
As of 2014, the undergraduate population includes 7,157 full-time and 2,942 part-time students with 31 percent of freshmen and 12 percent of all full-time undergraduates residing in campus-affiliated housing. While the majority of students are New York residents, students represent 43 states and 54 countries. Mercy College offers small class sizes with an average student/faculty ratio of 20:1. 88% of students are commuters; 12% live in campus housing. Mercy College has 71% female students and 29% male students.

Accreditation
All campuses of Mercy College are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Among others, Mercy College holds professional accreditations with:


 * Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education
 * Accreditation Review Commission for Physician Assistant
 * Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs
 * American Association for Paralegal Education
 * American Association of Colleges of Nursing Mercy College
 * American Physical Therapy Association
 * American Speech, Language and Hearing Association
 * American Veterinary Medical Association
 * Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
 * Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
 * Council on Social Work Education
 * Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education (In candidacy for NCATE accreditation, late 2013)

Athletics
Mercy College sponsors an intramural sports program as well as intercollegiate competition in 10 varsity teams compete at the Division II level. The College is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Coast Conference (ECC). Varsity men’s programs include baseball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer. Women’s athletic teams compete in basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. The baseball, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey teams, in addition to numerous local community high school and youth groups, play on a new, eco-friendly turf field on the Dobbs Ferry campus, overlooking the Hudson River.

In 2007 the college changed its athletic nickname from "Flyers" to "Mavericks" after the administration reviewed and narrowed suggestions from students and faculty members.

Student government
The Mercy College Student Government Association (SGA) is responsible for protecting students’ rights, advocating for students’ interests, and promoting student life. The SGA will be responsive to student interests and act as an agent for students.

Dining services
Cafeterias are present on the Dobbs Ferry main campus, and on all sites except Manhattan.

ROTC
Mercy College has U.S. Army ROTC and U.S. Navy ROTC programs on campus.

Notable staff

 * Matt Kilcullen, Director of Athletics at Mercy College.
 * Victor M. Pichardo, a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly. Former Associate Director of Public Relations at Mercy College.
 * Fernando Cabrera, American politician in the Bronx, New York. A Democrat, he currently represents the 14th District in the New York City Council. Formerly program director for the Mental Health and Counseling program at Mercy College

Notable faculty

 * Thomas J. Abinanti, American politician, lawyer, and member of the New York State Assembly from Greenburgh, New York.
 * Kimberly R. Cline, former president of Mercy College, and current president of Long Island University.
 * Hind Rassam Culhane, lawyer, social and behavioral scientist
 * Ira Joe Fisher, winner of two regional Emmys
 * Emmanuel Gyimah Labi, Ghanaian composer, conductor, and music professor.
 * John J. McGrath, businessman and professor
 * Wilbert J. Le Melle, American diplomat, author and academician. Former President of Mercy College
 * Joseph Thomas O'Keefe, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Syracuse from 1987 to 1995.
 * Barbara Boucher Owens, American computer scientist
 * Alfred S. Posamentier, American author and educator
 * Judson Rosebush, director and producer of multimedia products and computer animation, an author, artist and media theorist.
 * Arthur Rothstein, recognized as one of America’s premier photojournalists.
 * Boria Sax, American author and lecturer
 * Jay Sexter, former President of Mercy College
 * Mark Skousen, American economist and writer.

Athletic coaches

 * Rick Wolff

Notable alumni
Mercy College had more than 64,322 alumni as of 2018. College of New Rochelle's alumni numbering more than 54,000, were merged into Mercy College's alumni community in 2019, nearly doubling the size of the Mercy College alumni community to approximately 120,000 as of 2019.


 * Garvin Alston, retired American professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies. After retiring from playing, he entered coaching and previously served as the pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins.
 * Walter Anderson, former Publisher and CEO of Parade Magazine
 * Elaine Bartlett, an African American activist
 * Dewey Bozella, former amateur boxer
 * Paul Broadie, president of Housatonic Community College and Gateway Community College
 * Robert Cornegy, New York City Council Member for the 36th District, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant and northern Crown Heights in Brooklyn.
 * Laura Creavalle, professional female bodybuilder
 * Jeffrey Mark Deskovic, man wrongly convicted of rape; won a $41.6 million lawsuit
 * Simone Forbes, Jamaican sportswoman, having represented Jamaica in no less than five sports, including netball, volleyball, basketball, football and softball
 * Donna Hylton, Jamaican-American activist and murderer
 * Stan Jefferson, former center and left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds.
 * Mike Kavekotora, Namibian politician and member of parliament. He is the president of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), an opposition party.
 * Carolyn Kepcher, American businesswoman who was one of the judges on the NBC television program The Apprentice.
 * Leopoldo Minaya, Dominican-American poet
 * Olivia Peguero, contemporary landscape and botanical artist
 * James Reitz, a judge for the Putnam County Court in New York.
 * David Rosado, American politician from New York
 * Gabourey Sidibe, Academy Award-nominated actress
 * Pamela Smart, American high school teacher and criminal.
 * Brian Sweeney, former MLB pitcher
 * Sandra Uwiringiyimana, author
 * Wesley Walker, former NFL wide receiver
 * Gregory Howard Williams, 27th President of the University of Cincinnati (2009 to 2012) and the 11th President of the City College of New York (2001 - 2009).
 * Mookie Wilson, former MLB outfielder/ coach.
 * Joan Wolf, author of more than 15 historical novels.
 * Mark Zuckerberg, self-made billionaire, chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook

Honorary degree recipients

 * Bernard Castro, the inventor of the modern convertible couch.
 * Pasquale J. D'Amuro, American terrorism authority, former intelligence agent and television analyst.
 * Ulric Haynes, American diplomat, lawyer and university professor.
 * Donald M. Kendall, former CEO of PepsiCo
 * Gary Knell, Chairman of National Geographic Partners
 * Wendy Kopp, CEO and Co-Founder of Teach For All
 * Norman Mailer, American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, film-maker, actor, and liberal political activist.
 * Louis Rukeyser, American financial journalist, columnist, and commentator, through print, radio, and television.
 * Adelaide L. Sanford, leader, scholar, activist administrator, public speaker, and national advocate for African centered education for students of African descent.
 * Joseph A. Unanue, the president of Goya Foods, which is the largest Hispanic–owned food company in the United States, and is owned by the Unanue family.