North Andover, Massachusetts has had Augustinian involvement since 1853.
In 1947 the Order of Saint Augustine founded Merrimack College there, about 25 kms (20 miles) from Boston, in the state of Massachusetts. Merrimack College opened in 1947. Between then and 2008, the now 220-acre Merrimack College graduated almost 22,000 students.
Merrimack was founded at the cordial invitation of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston at that time, Richard Cushing, who was a true friend to the Order of Saint Augustine. It served a wide area in a Catholic region of North Andover, and provided an opportunity for numerous war veterans who received government help to attend university. It opened in 1947 in one modest new building. The Merrimack campus has grown to nearly forty buildings, and has adopted a beautiful brick colonial style of architecture.
These forty buildings include four classroom buildings, among which is the state-of-the-art Science, Engineering and Technology Centre named in honour of Gregor Mendel O.S.A., and the Library of 133,000 volumes that is named in honour of Vincent McQuade O.S.A., who was the inspiration and founder of Merrimack. Other buildings include the Science, Engineering and Technology Center; the 130,000-square-foot Sakowich Campus Center; the Rogers Center for the Arts; the S. Peter Volpe Athletic Center; Austin Hall, which houses administrative offices; the Collegiate Church of Christ the Teacher; student apartment buildings, townhouses and residence halls; and the Louis H. Hamel Health Center.
By 2016 Merrimack College had 3,200 full-time students and 575 graduate students and 900 part-time students from all parts of the United States and from thirty-one other countries. Seventy-five percent of its full-time students reside on campus. With a full-time faculty almost 200, Merrimack offers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in forty fields of concentration, with nine special programs and a Cooperative Education Program.
The Augustinian Order has relinquished financial responsibility for the college, and its control is now in the hands of a Board of Trustees, with three Augustinians among its thirty-two members. Most of the board members are local business and professional people participating in the Board in a voluntary capacity. The Augustinian tradition of the college continues. It is additionally supported by members of the Augustinian Order in the full-time teaching staff.
Merrimack College is a small, comprehensive centre of learning that has the frequent distinction of being chosen by the news magazine, U.S. News & World Report, among its "top ten" regional schools in its annual review of the best colleges in the United States. The magazine also included Merrimack in the top ten "best value" regional colleges, an indication of a quality education at a relatively inexpensive cost. It is the sixth consecutive year that Merrimack has been named a top tier regional school.
More than US$40 million dollars was raised by 13,000 donors in the five-year capital campaign of Merrimack College in 1997-2001. It was the largest amount ever raised in a campaign at Merrimack. It was more than 62% above the original goal of $25 million set in 1997. On the Merrimack web site it state, "At Merrimack, you'll find visionary and caring faculty, national leaders in their field of expertise and outstanding scholars."
"You'll be given a voice in interactive classrooms where teachers emphasize the big questions and lead students to discover the answers for themselves. And you'll find it easy to get involved in a campus community that reflects our Augustinian heritage of care for the individual soul."
Links
The Merrimack College web site. http://www.merrimack.edu
A Profile of Merrimack College. Founded by the Order of St. Augustine in 1947, Merrimack College is recognized as a superior Catholic coeducational institution of higher learning. http://www.collegeprofiles.com/merrimack.html
Why Merrimack College? You Tube (31 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT0_IzCsgfE AN4266