University of Saint Mary (Kansas)

University of Saint Mary

University of Saint Mary Seal
Former names	Saint Mary College
Motto	Virtus Et Scientia
Motto in English	Virtue and Science Be Inspired.
Type	Private
Established	1923
Affiliation	Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, (Catholic)
President	Sr. Diane Steele
Vice-president	Nancy Bramlett Michelle Metzinger Kathleen Brady John Shultz
Provost	Michelle Metzinger
Students	796
Location	Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S. Coordinates: 39°16′37″N 94°54′24″W / 39.27694°N 94.90667°W / 39.27694; -94.90667
Colors	Navy and Gold
Nickname	Spires
Affiliations	NAIA – KCAC
Mascot	Spiro the Dragon
Website	www.stmary.edu

The University of Saint Mary (USM) is a private liberal arts university in Leavenworth, Kansas, United States. It is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, who established it as Saint Mary College. Though it was originally a school for women, the school is now coeducational. The mother house of the order is also on the premises. At one time the nuns' property had its own post office, Xavier, Kansas, the name honoring St. Francis Xavier.

The University of Saint Mary offers 26 bachelor’s degree programs and six master's degree programs, including Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Education, Adaptive Special Education, and Teaching. Traditional, evening, degree completion, and online classes are available.

The University of Saint Mary’s mission is "to educate students of diverse backgrounds to realize their God-given potential and prepare them for value-centered lives and careers that contribute to the well being of our global society."

The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul came to Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1858 and began teaching boys and girls. One year later, they created St. Mary's Institute, a small educational institute for women, in downtown Leavenworth. In 1870, Saint Mary's was moved to its current location south of the City, and was renamed St. Mary's Academy. In 1923, the Sisters established Saint Mary College. In 1932, the college became a four-year institute and started accepting a few men in certain areas of study. Arthur Morton Murphy, PhD, who was born in Electric Peak, Montana and earned his doctorate at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, was chosen as the school's first president, and served in that capacity for 25 years. He was the first layman to preside over a Catholic college for women in the United States. Murphy was succeeded as president by poet and educator Sister Mary Janet McGilley, PhD, SCL. In 1974, Saint Mary College became the first four-year institution to offer a degree completion in Kansas City. The school became residentially coeducational in 1988. In 2000, a campus was opened in Overland Park, Kansas. The institution expanded again in July 2003, changing its name to the University of Saint Mary. The school's first fully endowed chair was inaugurated in 1989, honoring the retirement of Sister Mary Janet.

The main campus of USM is located between 200 acres (0.81 km²) of hills in Leavenworth, Kansas, and is the location of undergraduate classrooms, two residential halls (Berchman's Hall and Maria Hall), and the main academic and administrative offices. It is near a nature preserve and has stately academic buildings, indoor athletic facilities, and outdoor playing fields.