Mount St.

Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, Maryland
www.msmary.edu

Overview
Within cannon shot of the hallowed Gettys-
burg battlefield, and across the historic Ma-
son-Dixon line (bordering Pennsylvania and
Maryland), stands the nation’s second-oldest
Catholic university responsible for educating
religious leaders and laypeople since 1808.
Recently completing a year-long bicenten-
nial celebration, Mount St. Mary’s University
is poised to enhance its national reputation
while remaining faithful to its original mis-
sion. quick facts
The history of the Emmitsburg, Mary-
Founded: 1808
land, university includes two legendary fig-
Type of institution: Medium-size university
ures in American Catholicism. Mount St.
Setting: Rural
Mary’s was founded in 1808 by the French-
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,641 (2008–09
born Father John DuBois, friend and spiritual academic year)
advisor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the Total undergraduate cost: $38,298 (tuition,
first American-born saint. Seton founded the room and board for 2009–10)
Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg and often Undergraduate majors: More than 40
brought classes from her Saint Joseph’s Acad-
emy and Free School to Mary’s Mountain for Five Key Points
Mass and religious study. Father DuBois led
1. The second oldest U.S. Catholic
the “Mount,” as the university is popularly
college, it celebrated its bicentennial
known, for 18 years until he was appointed
in 2008.
Bishop of New York, where he served until
2. The university continues to strengthen
1839.
its Catholic identity.
Today the institution has three corpo-
3. A 19-course core curriculum in the
rate parts—the university, a seminary and
Catholic tradition.
a national shrine—each of which has had
an important impact on the Archdiocese of 4. The university corporation includes
a prominent seminary and Lourdes
Baltimore and the nation. The seminary, the
Grotto.
second oldest in the United States, is often re-
ferred to as the “Cradle of Bishops” because 5. Draws students especially from
Mid-Atlantic states.
51 of its graduates have become bishops, in-
cluding one 19th-century cardinal. The Na-

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Mount St. Mary’s University
tional Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes,
a replica of the shrine located in France, has
been receiving thousands of pilgrims since
1875 and is a welcome retreat for students and
seminarians.
The Mount became a university in 2004
to reflect its expansion into graduate pro-
grams in education, business, divinity and
theology.
The 120-foot tower and golden statute
of the Blessed Mother at the Grotto, which
looms large over the campus, is an unmistak-
able symbol of the Mount’s Catholic identity.
Dr. Thomas Powell, president for the past six
years, has worked to enhance that identity by
heavily promoting the university’s mission
statement, which emphasizes four pillars:
Faith, Discovery, Leadership and Communi-
ty. By design, “Faith” comes first.
The university’s core curriculum in-
cludes a two-semester Freshman Seminar,
required courses and choices among several
required liberal arts disciplines. The first goal
of the undergraduate program is: “An under-
standing of the Western humanist tradition,
including its American expression, particu-
larly as that tradition has been interpreted in
Catholic thought and practice.
As part of its new Third Century Plan
for Excellence initiative, the university imple-
mented a reorganization plan in July 2009. To
help focus the academic program, a College
of Liberal Arts, School of Business, School of
Education and Human Services, and a School
of Science were created.
The Catholic tradition and the opportu-
nity to study on a beautiful 1,400-acre cam-
pus in the Catoctin Mountains attracted un-
dergraduate, graduate and seminary students
from 35 states and 13 foreign countries in
2008–09. Nearly 70 percent of the undergrad-
uates are Catholic.
Students can pursue more than 40 un-
dergraduate majors, concentrations and mi-
nors. These include the traditional liberal arts
174
From the
Financial Aid Office
“Can you afford us? Yes, we offer liberal
financial aid packages… and lots of them.
We try to make a Mount education avail-
able to all qualified students.
“Most families at Mount St. Mary’s re-
ceive a wide variety of financial aid—in-
cluding scholarships and grants—that
significantly reduces the cost of attending
the Mount.
“In 2008, more than $33 million was
awarded to Mount students, with an av-
erage freshman award of $17,925. Every
year we support over 95 percent of Mount
families with financial aid ranging from
$6,000 to full tuition.
“All applicants for admission are consid-
ered for academic scholarships based on
several criteria, including: high school
course selection, course achievement,
SAT and/or ACT results and involvement
in extracurricular activities.
“Other scholarship opportunities are
available for students whose parents are
Catholic educators as well as those inter-
ested in campus ministry, athletics, ROTC
and fine arts. For more information visit
www.msmary.edu/financialaid.
“In addition to scholarships, financial aid
applicants may receive additional aid that
includes grants, work-study jobs and/or
student loans to further help defray the
cost of attendance.
“For further information contact David
Reeder or Amy Wilkinson by calling 800-
448-4347 (toll-free) or 301-447-5207 or e-
mailing finaid@msmary.edu.”
The Newman Guide

disciplines as well as more modern ones such
as computer science and environmental sci-
ence. Among the university’s academic part-
nerships is a six-year, undergraduate-gradu-
ate program offered in occupational therapy
with Sacred Heart University.
Mount St. Mary’s offers an M.B.A. and
two master’s degrees in education at a cam-
pus in Frederick, Md., 20 miles south of Em-
mitsburg. It also offers its M.B.A. in Hager-
stown, Md. and part-time continuing studies
programs in Frederick and Westminster, Md.
The university is fully accredited by the Mid-
dle States Commission of
Higher Education.
When compared to
other private institutions in
Maryland, the tuition rate
at Mount St. Mary’s is sub-
stantially below the state
average. Tuition, room and
board cost $38,298 in 2009-
10. The average freshman
financial aid package was
$17,925, including scholar-
ships, grants, work-study
and federal loans.
Governance
A predominantly lay, 38-
member board of trustees
governs the university.
Many of the members are
prominent business leaders
from Maryland and elsewhere. Eleven mem-
bers of the board are clerics, including Arch-
bishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore, Bishop
Francis Malooly of the Diocese of Wilming-
ton, Delaware, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades of
the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Bishop Rhoades, who attended Mount St.
Mary’s College, was rector of the seminary
for seven years before he was appointed to his
current position in 2004.
The Newman Guide
Mount St. Mary’s University
Dr. Powell, the 24th president of the uni-
versity, was appointed in 2003. Four of the
last five presidents have been lay academics.
Dr. Powell had previously served as president
of Glenville State College, a central West Vir-
ginia institution which specializes in teacher
preparation. Even there he emphasized val-
ues, launching a program to focus on the
key virtues of academic integrity. Dr. Powell
earned his Ed.D. in special education at Van-
derbilt University and has written four books,
including Brothers and Sisters: A Special Part
of Exceptional Families. He and his wife Irene
have three children.
Public Identity
President Powell has made
the university’s Catho-
lic identity a priority. The
university’s 2006–12 stra-
tegic plan, “A Commu-
nity Growing Together:
A Vision for Future Gen-
erations,” identifies as the
University’s first priority
“to continue to enhance
our strong Catholic iden-
tity.” Among the seven
goals identified to promote
that objective is to infuse
the university’s Governing
Documents with a commit-
ment to Ex corde Ecclesiae.
That was partially
done when the board of trustees adopted a
robust statement on Catholic identity in June
2007. Noting that a “strong Catholic identity is
central to the mission of Mount St. Mary’s Uni-
versity,” the board emphasized the primacy
of the Gospel and the Church teachings, “full
compliance with both the letter and spirit of
Ex corde Ecclesiae,” and deference to the Holy
See and the Archbishop of Baltimore.
175
Mount St. Mary’s University
The university also has a hiring-for-mis-
sion program. The president personally meets
with faculty and staff upon hiring and seek-
ing tenure. He expects respect for and public
commitment to Catholic teaching.
The university’s Catholic identity was
an integral part of the current bicentennial
celebration. Bishop Rhoades celebrated the
opening event, the Founders Mass, on August
24, 2007. Later that day, a three-ton statue of
Father DuBois was dedicated in the center of
the campus. Among other events during the
2007–08 academic year was a Bishops’ Mass in
November 2007 and a Bicentennial Mass cel-
ebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York
City in October
2007. The seminary,
also celebrating its
bicentennial, held a
number of separate
events, concluding
with a Marian Re-
treat.
Of the semi-
nary one professor
said, “The presence
of the seminary on
campus has helped
out in many indi-
rect ways.” There
are the Masses and
various spiritual activities at the seminary’s
St. Bernard Chapel. Seminarians also are
seen around campus and initiated a series of
annual retreats for teenagers, the most recent
taking place in February 2009.
Another initiative launched by Dr. Powell
has been to assign seminarians as chaplains
to each of the university’s 19 intercollegiate
sports teams. They normally attend the home
games, lead the teams in prayer before games
and are present at the sports banquets.
Athletic director Lynne Phelan Robin-
son told us, “The chaplains may stay with
their team for several years, up through their
176
ordination to the priesthood. We have had
cases where a seminarian has been chaplain
to a team for four years. Recently, one who
had been chaplain to the soccer team was or-
dained, and the soccer coaches and a number
of team players attended his ordination.”
Leo Patalinghug, director of Pastoral
Field Education at the Seminary and leader
of the “Grace Before Meals” family prayer
movement, has said, “Our chaplains are there
to help men and women ask, ‘What am I go-
ing to do with these God-given talents? Who
am I playing for, and to what end?’”
The seminary currently has students
from 26 U.S. dioceses and one from Togo,
Africa. Among
recent graduates
were those from
the Archdiocese of
Grenada in Spain
and the Diocese of
Cajamarca in Peru.
Men from three
religious orders
also are there. In
the spring 2009 se-
mester there were
140 seminarians.
The seminary
has trained 2,000
priests since 1808;
about 1,200 are currently serving in 45 dio-
ceses.
The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady
of Lourdes is a beautiful haven of spiritual
tranquility and a great asset to the university.
It includes the Chapel of St. Mary on the Hill,
the small Corpus Christi Chapel, an outdoor
Stations of the Cross, and Rosary paths and
several statues.
The impressive Pangborn Memorial
Campanile bell tower, which is 95 feet tall,
has the gold-leafed 25-foot statue of the
Blessed Mother at the top. A printed guide to
the grotto says the 14 pealing bells have been
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 Mount St. Mary’s University

a call to reflection: “Tradition has it that when
John DuBois built his church on this lofty site,
he did so in order that the people in the val-
ley at their daily tasks would look up, see the
Cross and their Blessed Mother, and would
keep the faith.”
Aside from the Grotto, there are other
physical manifestations of Catholicism on
campus such as Catholic artwork, crucifixes
and statues. There is a lounge identified as
the John Paul II Plaza; a building named for a
former archbishop of Baltimore, Archbishop
William Borders; and the Seminary dining
room dedicated to Cardinal William Keeler of
Baltimore. A recent addition to the seminary
is named John R. Keating Hall, honoring the
late Bishop of Arlington, Virginia, who was a
strong supporter of vocations.
One unique religious observance at
Mount St. Mary’s is the annual Mass to bless
college rings. The Class of 2010 Ring Mass
was held in November 2008.

Message from the President

Dear Parents and Prospective Students:

The story of Mount St. Mary’s University is a uniquely American

one—quite simply, the story of the Catholic Church in America. Father John
DuBois, on a voyage filled with courage, faith and determination, settled
on our spectacular mountainside and founded Mount St. Mary’s in 1808.

Now, more than 200 years later, the Mount’s outstanding faculty, staff and students are on a
voyage of faith, discovery, leadership and community—one that I’d like to invite you to become
a part of.

• Faith: we are proudly a robust and contemporary Catholic university. Discovery:

at the Mount you’ll not only learn and encounter the world, but more importantly,
you’ll learn about yourself.

• Leadership: our charge is to prepare leaders for society and we take that charge seri-
ously; we expect leadership at all levels.

• Community: you will become part of the Mount family the instant you step foot on
campus… and remain part of it long after you graduate.

I invite you to become more familiar with our campus by coming for a visit. You are certain
to find a comfortable place here at the Mount.

I look forward to our paths crossing soon!

Sincerely,

Thomas H. Powell

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Mount St. Mary’s University
The university has a speaker’s policy
which ensures vigilance that speakers who
might contradict church teachings do not
speak on issues of disagreement. Mother Te-
resa is one prominent Catholic who visited in
1975 and again in 1995.
The commencement speakers have been
strong. The re-
cent speakers
were the Most
Reverend Gordon
Bennett, Bishop
of the Diocese of
Mandeville, Ja-
maica; Archbish-
op Pietro Sambi,
Apostolic Nun-
cio to the United
States; Arch-
bishop Edmund
O’Brien of the
Archdiocese of
Baltimore; and,
in 2009, theolo-
gian and papal biographer George Weigel.
Academics
The university is proud of its sequenced core
curriculum of 19 courses. Students focus
on cultural studies the first year, while two
courses of philosophy are taken in the second
year and two courses of theology are taken in
the third year. Among other requirements are
foreign language and non-Western studies.
All first-year students take the Freshman
Seminar in the fall and spring semesters.
They are taught study skills and are intellec-
tually oriented to college work.
In the 2008–2009 academic year at the
Mount, 36 percent of freshmen were major-
ing in liberal arts disciplines, 28 percent in
the business and accounting programs, 19
percent in science and nine percent in educa-
tion.
178
The theology department is strong. There
is a theology major—with the opportunity for
an emphasis in religious education, pastoral
ministry or youth ministry—and a theology
minor. Theology professors see their role as
teachers to include a pastoral component, and
they strive to help their students integrate
academic work
into their per-
sonal develop-
ment.
Facult y
members in
the theology
department are
Father James
Donohue, C.R.,
whose interests
are in liturgy,
sacraments,
pastoral theolo-
gy and system-
atic theology;
Dr. David Mc-
Carthy, systematic and moral theology; and
Dr. William Collinge, who pursues Catholic
social teaching and the history and philoso-
phy of religion.
Also notable is Monsignor Stuart Swet-
land, who has been serving as vice president
for Catholic identity. A popular speaker and
former Rhodes Scholar, Monsignor Swetland
was named to the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn
Endowed Chair of Christian Ethics in spring
2009.
The philosophy department also is solid.
No philosophy courses or professors promote
teachings in opposition to the Catholic faith.
The department recognizes, according to one
professor, “a Catholic intellectual tradition
and that you don’t understand the history of
philosophy without understanding the Cath-
olic tradition.”
Two particularly impressive philosophy
professors are Dr. Michael Miller, a specialist
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in medieval philosophy and the philosophy
of religion, and Dr. Joshua Hochschild, dean
of the new College of Liberal Arts and former
head of the Master of Arts in Philosophical
Studies program. Many courses have been
developed for the seminary’s pre-theology
programs, and the department works closely
with the seminary in many areas.
There is apparent collegiality between
the theology and philosophy departments.
For example, they have joined in a faculty
development seminar group to enhance their
effectiveness and share teaching strategies for
the capstone senior ethics course, which can
be taken in either theology or philosophy.
They also have collaborated on a
new student journal, Tolle Lege, which was
launched in the fall 2007 semester. This pub-
lication features student essays on theology
and philosophy; the first issue, 62 pages long,
was published in 2007 and
is published annually. The
title of the publication is a
reference to St. Augustine’s
conversion.
Among other stand-
out Catholic scholars are
Dr. John Larrivee of the
business and economics
faculty; Dr. Dana Ward,
professor of science and re-
cipient of a grant for heart
research; and Dr. Caroline
Eick, an assistant professor
of education.
Dr. Powell is working
to strengthen the Catholic
identity and the academic
reputation in departments
throughout the university.
His personal involvement
and his strong endorse-
ment of Ex corde Ecclesiae are vital to the suc-
cess of these goals.
The Newman Guide
Mount St. Mary’s University
As part of its priority to strengthen its
academics (priority two of five in its 2006–12
strategic plan), the university is seeking to es-
tablish a Center for Catholic Social Justice. It
hopes that this initiative will include an en-
dowed professorship and internships.
The education department, which be-
came the School of Education and Human
Services in 2009, was granted accreditation
by the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education in 2008. Newly created un-
der the new School of Education is the Center
for Catholic School Excellence which seeks to
provide guidance to administrators, teachers
and other lay personnel in Catholic educa-
tion.
An honors program is available to stu-
dents. Included in the program are seminar-
type classes and an opportunity to present re-
search to the school at large. Honors students
are able to attend special
lectures, social and cultural
events, and periodic dinners
at the university president’s
home.
There is a study-abroad
program that during the pe-
riod 2006–09 offered semes-
ter-long programs in Aus-
tria, Costa Rica, the Czech
Republic, France, Ireland,
Italy, Spain and the United
Kingdom. Faculty members
join students and in most
cases teach courses on lo-
cation. In October 2008, 12
Mount students toured Rus-
sian businesses and worked
with Russian business stu-
dents as part of a program
arranged through Students
in Free Enterprise, an orga-
nization which encourages students to take
what they learn in the classroom and apply it
to their community.
179
Mount St. Mary’s University

The Mount has an active Service Learn- There also is a Building Unified Mount
ing Program, which encompasses what is Spirit (B.U.M.S.) group, which provides social
known as the 4th Credit Option and Integrat- opportunities for students involved in cam-
ed Service Learning. The former allows stu- pus ministry and community service activi-
dents to add an additional credit to a course, ties, and a chapter of Fellowship of Catholic
without financial charge, by doing 30 hours University Students (FOCUS), which helps
of pertinent outside service and writing about evangelize students. Four FOCUS “mission-
it. Integrated Service Learning is service work aries” were at the Mount in the 2008-09 aca-
integrated into the syllabus of a course. demic year.
The Mount’s Callings Program, funded
by a Lilly Endowment grant, sponsors numer-
Spiritual Life ous ways “to explore faith and life choices.”
This has been done through campus minis-
The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception,
try activities as well as an annual conference
opened in 1910, is the site of what the univer-
on campus. More than 1,000 students, faculty
sity calls the “principal university Mass” on
and others attended the March 2007 confer-
Sunday at 7:30 p.m. It is also the location of a
ence. The 2008 conference focused on “The
Saturday vigil Mass.
Way Forward for Lay Ministry.”
Daily Masses, Monday through Friday,
Other spiritual opportunities, including
are offered at St. Bernard’s Chapel at the sem-
Masses, confessions, Benediction, novenas
inary, and at noon and 10 p.m. (except Friday)
and Eucharistic
at Mary Queen
Adoration, are
of Peace Cha-
available at the
pel in Pangborn
adjacent Nation-
Hall, a residence
al Shrine Grotto
facility. Masses
of Lourdes.
are reverent.
Another
Confessions are
unexpected
available twice a
religious site
week and by ap-
was found in
pointment.
2009. While
The Cam-
doing routine
pus Ministry
const r uct ion
Orga n izat ion
work, the first
presents oppor-
chapel—in fact,
tunities for stu-
the first college
dents to serve as
building—was
lectors, ushers,
uncovered. The
Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers and in
university has reconstructed the chapel on
other capacities. There also are retreat week-
the original site, reviving an older tradition of
ends, Bible study, prayer groups and women’s
having the chapel in a residence hall available
and men’s vocation discernment groups. A
for students night and day.
peer ministry program, in which older stu-
There are three Catholic parish church-
dents work with younger ones in the resi-
es in the immediate vicinity. Saint Anthony
dence halls and interact with the chaplain,
Shrine Parish is about one-quarter mile south
was begun in 2006.

180 The Newman Guide

 Mount St. Mary’s University

of the campus and its related church, Our The university has a student-run news-
Lady of Mount Carmel, is five miles away; paper, The Mountain Echo, which dates back to
each offers two Masses each Sunday. Less 1879; it is available in print and online. There
than three miles away in the town of Emmits- also is a campus radio station, WMTB 89.9
burg is Saint Joseph’s Church, a Vincentian- FM, which broadcasts 17 hours a day.
run parish. Emmitsburg is also home to the Students get involved in service projects
national shrine and museum of Saint Eliza- which include food drives, help for the home-
beth Ann Seton. less, working with individuals with disabili-
ties, soup kitchens, Habitat for Humanity and
tutoring. Among some specific activities are
Student Activities visiting Villa Saint Michael, a Daughters of
Charity retirement home, and St. Catherine’s
Students can choose from about 70 clubs to
Nursing Center in Emmitsburg. Four hundred
join. These run the gamut of typical groups
students also participated in the American
such as a chess club, chorale, a student gov-
Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in February
ernment association and career-related clubs.
2009. Students have participated in overseas
There is the Campaign to End the Death Pen-
service trips
alty, which has
to Mexico and
brought the
Peru.
Mount state and
Mount St.
national recog-
Mary’s fields
nition for its ac-
19 intercolle-
tivities. There are
giate teams in
also chapters of
NCAA Divi-
the Knights of Co-
sion I, making
lumbus and the
it the fourth
Legion of Mary
smallest uni-
for students who
versity in that
wish to join.
top division.
The Mount
Since 1989 they
Students for Life
have competed
participates in the
in the North-
annual March for
east Confer-
Life in Washing-
ence, which is
ton, D.C., and other activities. Two busloads
composed of 11 universities in five states. The
of students attended the March in 2009. The
1,000-seat Waldron Family Stadium Complex,
president of the group added, “We pray a
which accommodates lacrosse and soccer,
weekly Rosary at an on-campus memorial for
was dedicated in August 2007. The E.T. Straw
the unborn, and we pray at a local abortion
Family Stadium for baseball also was dedi-
center on Saturdays.”
cated in 2007.
Outdoor activities are available through
Legendary men’s basketball coach Jim
a group called Challenging Recreation, Un-
Phelan amassed 830 wins for the university
leashing Experience (CRUX). Among its ac-
during his 49-year career that ended in 2003.
tivities have been backpacking, canoeing,
He won a national championship for the
caving, hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing
Mount in 1962 and was elected to the Nation-
and whitewater rafting.

The Newman Guide 181

Mount St. Mary’s University

al Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. such geo-thermal heating and cooling.
The basketball court has been renamed the Some students elect to participate in the
“Jim Phelan Court” for the quiet leader who Lifestyles of Fellowship, Opportunity and
was famous for his bowties. Temperance (LOFT) initiative. These students
The men’s basketball team won the have an interest in outdoor activities, service
Northeast Conference title in 2008 and par- projects, healthy living and abstinence from
ticipated in the 2008 NCAA basketball tour- alcohol. They live either in Pangborn Hall or
nament. In March 2009 the team played in the in the Bradley Annex Suites. There also is a
first CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tourna- floor at Pangborn reserved for Women in Sci-
ment. ence. Off-campus rental opportunities are
For others interested in sports, there are identified on the university’s website.
club sports in dance, equestrian, ice hockey Our interviewees noted that student
and rugby. Intra- drinking does
mural opportuni- take place, but
ties are available we have been
in nearly two told that it seems
dozen sports, not to be a seri-
from bocce to ous problem.
volleyball. One One university
respondent said official said,
that about one- “For any stu-
quarter of all stu- dent who wants
dents are engaged to live a good
in sports. spiritual life and
Students also live uprightly,
participate in the they won’t have
university’s An- trouble here.”
nual Crab Feast, In an effort
the Christmas to keep parents
Dance and concerts performed at the Knott and families informed about activities at the
Athletic Recreation Convention Complex Mount, the university sponsors a Mount Fam-
(ARCC), which seats 3,500 people. Among re- ily Association, coordinated by Dr. Powell’s
cent performers at Knott were the Young Ger- wife, Irene Quinn Powell. Its activities include
man Symphony Orchestra and Quartet San a newsletter, the online Mount Family Prayer
Francisco. Memo, orientation and a fall Family Fest. Re-
markably, all students and parents are given
the Powells’ home telephone number and are
Residential Life encouraged to call to address any issues or
concerns with Dr. Powell or Mrs. Powell.
About 85 percent of Mount St. Mary’s students
The university operates a wellness cen-
live on campus. Housing arrangements sepa-
ter. The nearest hospital, Gettysburg Hospi-
rate men and women by floor, and each floor
tal, is about 15 minutes away. Major research
has a resident advisor. The newest residence
hospitals are located in the Baltimore and
for students, Bicentennial Hall, opened in
Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas.
2008 with an emphasis on “green initiatives”

182 The Newman Guide


The Community
Mount St. Mary’s is located outside the town
of Emmitsburg, which was founded on the
frontier in 1757 and today has a population
of 2,400 people. One of the landmarks of the
town is the National Fire Academy, run by the
U.S. Fire Administration and which provides
advanced firefighting training to firemen
from across the United States.
Both serious crime and property crime
in Emmitsburg are well below the national
average. The campus is only a few miles from
the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and Get-
tysburg is about 10 miles to the north. Freder-
ick is about 20 miles to the south.
All three localities are off U.S. Route 15,
which also provides easy access to the Cato-
ctin Mountain Park, part of the U.S. National
Park Service, and Cunningham Falls State
Park, which offers hiking and water sports
and is home to the President’s Mountain cab-
in at Camp David. The nearest national high-
way is Interstate 70, which can be accessed at
either Frederick or Hagerstown. The highway
runs from Baltimore in the east to Utah in the
west.
Emmitsburg is one hour to the west of
Baltimore, Maryland’s largest city, and one
hour north of Washington, D.C., and all the
attractions of the nation’s capital. Both major
cities offer a large number of cultural, social
and sports opportunities, including two Ma-
jor League Baseball and two National Football
League teams as well as professional hockey,
basketball and soccer teams.
The Newman Guide
Mount St. Mary’s University
Three major international airports are lo-
cated about one hour away: Baltimore/Wash-
ington International Thurgood Marshall Air-
port, Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport and Dulles International Airport.
Virtually every major domestic and interna-
tional carrier flies into one or more of these
airports.
The Bottom Line
Mount St. Mary’s University is linked to the
rich Catholic heritage of the United States. As
the university celebrated its bicentennial in
2007-2008 with a rich array of events, its Cath-
olic identity was prominently featured.
The university has greatly strengthened
its Catholic mission, and President Thomas
Powell has been at the heart of this effort. His
leadership—coupled with the active support
of the board of trustees—comes at the right
time as many long-established Catholic col-
leges struggle with issues of growth, academ-
ic freedom and economic constraints.
Dr. Powell has said the Mount is “the best
kept secret in the Mid-Atlantic region.” But
because of its Catholicism, solid curriculum,
vibrant student life and impressive location,
it is becoming increasingly well known not
only in the region, but throughout the nation.
It is a university that offers much as it begins
its third century with a commitment to Faith,
Discovery, Leadership and Community.
183
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