In creating this 2025-28 Strategic Plan for Mount St. Mary’s University, our team began with reflection on the University’s founding and its enduring mission. Fr. John Dubois climbed this mountain more than two centuries ago. Alongside parishioners and community members, he opened the first incarnation of the university in 1808 at the base of Mary’s Mountain.
Fr. Dubois’ approach to a Catholic education that welcomed all was bold and visionary. Our task is to infuse our founder’s passion, faith, hope, and wisdom into the Mount’s future during this era of challenge and opportunity in higher education.
In some ways, this is a transition plan. It amplifies the achievements of the seven-year plan just ending, including enrollment growth and new academic programs and facilities. Our three-year plan horizon lays the groundwork for near-term actions that will underpin the Mount’s long-term distinction. Our strategies are designed to accomplish two fundamental aims: securing the Mount’s lasting vitality and ensuring our students graduate ready to succeed as individuals and ethical leaders in their chosen professions.
Our plan builds on today’s considerable strengths. The Mount, comprising a flourishing University, the largest Catholic seminary in the nation, and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, transforms its community members and visitors by reflecting God’s love and grace.
We seek to further unify the Mount’s three distinctive elements, understanding the Mount’s whole is far greater than the sum of our parts. Elevating our mission in this way promises to draw others to us—as students, seminarians, employees, community partners, pilgrims, alumni, and supporters and advocates of all kinds. Fortifying our foundation also means ensuring that our financial resources are robust, diversified, and sustainable and that our campus facilities advance our ambitions.
Even as we fortify the Mount’s base, we will explore potential new programs and prioritize increasing success in student recruitment, retention, and graduation. With fidelity to our mission, we commit to continuous progress through a vibrant campus environment, an excellent faculty and staff, and the development of each student heart, spirit, mind, and vocation.
Gerard “Jerry” Joyce, Ph.D.
27th President
Mount St. Mary’s University
May 13, 2025
As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s graduates ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and lead lives of significance in service to God and others.
As a Catholic university, Mount St. Mary’s University is committed to the person and Gospel of Jesus Christ as the foundation of our values and attitudes which are reflected in our campus community, policies and procedures. We embrace the fullness of the Catholic faith tradition, social tradition, and intellectual tradition under the guidance of Ex Corde Ecclesiae and through a close relationship with the Archbishop of Baltimore. We are committed to our longstanding history of inviting all people of goodwill from any background or faith tradition to be welcomed as a full member of our community because we believe the transformative power of the Mount experience offers goodness and growth to everyone.
Inspired by Mary, Spes Nostra, on our sacred mountain, we will be recognized as a historic Catholic institution that intellectually, spiritually, socially, and morally transforms all for the common good.
Achieving our mission in pursuit of our Vision will require a commitment from everyone in the Mount community to four essential initiatives. By pursuing excellence in academics and all that we do and developing a welcoming community and culture, our students will succeed in realizing their full potential. Continued student success will make the Mount a destination of choice which will ensure our sustainability
The Mount remains at the forefront of academic excellence in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education through a culture of continuous improvement. Through its rigorous academics and unique scholarly programs, the Mount prepares its graduates to be ethical leaders who will transform all for the common good. Our innovative Catholic liberal arts Core curriculum, enriched by engagement with rigorous and relevant majors, transforms students into deep thinkers with a strong moral foundation. Experiential learning opportunities such as internships, research, and service, challenge students to integrate their knowledge with their leadership skills to effect change.
At Mount St. Mary’s University, our sacred story continues to unfold. Rooted in a deep Catholic tradition and guided by a mission of service, we are committed to forming a community where all people are welcomed, known, and called to something greater. In the years ahead, we will strengthen the living legacy of the Mount by honoring our past, uplifting our people, deepening our commitment to service, and walking in partnership with our Seminary and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Through these shared efforts, we seek not only to preserve our sense of community, but to boldly live it today as we prepare for the communities of tomorrow.
The Mount is a vibrant and welcoming community that is passionate about supporting and guiding the development of the whole student. Students receive academic support tailored to interest and needs. Outside the classroom, learning and development continues as students engage in a plethora of experiential opportunities focused on leadership, service, spiritual formation, creativity, innovation, cultural immersion, and/or wellness. Faculty and professional advisors provide holistic guidance to ensure students are prepared to embark on lives of significance.
To generate the resources needed for the expansion of robust and relevant programs, we depend on friends and partners who recognize the value of a Mount education. Thus, it is essential that we clearly promote our distinctiveness as a university, a seminary, and a national shrine in service to God and humankind. As prudent stewards, we strategically manage our resources through comprehensive financial planning and data-informed decision-making.
Mount St. Mary's University Strategic Planning is overseen by the Assessment, Strategic Planning and Institutional Research, and Effectiveness (ASPIRE) Office. To get more information about strategic planning, assessment or official reporting to federal, state and accrediting agencies, please contact Executive Director of Strategic Planning & Institutional Effectiveness Jeffrey Simmons, Ph.D.
Last updated August 18, 2025.
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