Marymount Gone, Fordham Goes On

Despite rumors that Fordham University plans to sell the Marymount College property after the Class of 2007’s graduation, Father Reedy, Dean of Marymount College, assures that, as of now, no such action is being considered.

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"There are no plans to sell. No one has been approached about buying Marymount College. We don’t have an agent. We don’t have a price tag. We don’t know what it could be used for. We don’t know if it would be of interest to either the town or private contractors," Fr. Reedy adamantly states.

Marymount College officially closes on May 31, 2007 leaving many wondering what the parent school Fordham University plans to do with the property. For the 2007-2008 school year, Fordham will continue to run graduate programs, but on the main campus and the North Hall building that are currently occupied by Marymount College. Fordham Masters programs offered in business, education, and social work will continue, but move to the newly acquired buildings.

Fr. Reedy notes that it is important for Fordham to maintain a central Westchester campus to offer such programs. Some buildings currently owned by Marymount College will be closed for the year with their future to be determined later.

Approximately sixty to one hundred remaining Marymount students will continue their education under the Fordham University General Studies program. It is expected that the majority of them will still live in the on-campus dormitories.

In 2000, Fordham University took over Marymount College, and Fr. Reedy was made Dean.

"I came here very optimistic to build a greater Marymount College, but many things went wrong," said Fr. Reedy. Despite having raised attendance, difficulty integrating Fordham faculty with Marymount, and

continued expenses such as the need for more faculty members, posed problems. "The way Fordham works is that every school has an income. It’s a hope that all ten schools are in the black. If they aren’t in a given year, another school picks up the slack. No one says that will ever be a permanent solution though," said Fr. Reedy. In an effort to keep Marymount open he wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees requesting additional funding of $1 million a year for ten years, however, it was decided that the money would better be suited for other ventures.

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About the Author: David Jacobsen Jr.