Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known as Mount St. Mary's College until January 2015)
[New Name, Expanded Programs At L.A.'s Only Women's University: Mount Saint Mary's University](_blank)
/ref> is a private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
, Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
university primarily for women, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Women make up ninety percent of the student body.[
It was founded in 1925 by the ]Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious which traces its origins to a group founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France around 1650 by Jean Pierre Medaille, S.J. The design of the congregation was ...
and today has two campuses just over apart: Chalon in Brentwood and Doheny in North University Park, near Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...
.
History
Chalon Campus
The university first held its classes at St. Mary's Academy, then located at West Slauson Avenue
Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, Lad ...
and Crenshaw Boulevard. In 1928, the Sisters purchased of land along the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
from the Rodeo Land and Water Company for $162,000. In 1947, an additional was acquired to complete what is today the university's Chalon campus. The campus contains a blend of architecture familiar to Los Angeles, largely in the tradition of the Spanish Colonial Revival
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
In the ...
and Mission Revival
The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
styles. The unique location of the campus in Brentwood, on a 1,100-foot (340 m) ridge, provides an overlook to both the Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overl ...
and of the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
.
Being the university's first campus, Chalon has been home to a number of important events in the history of the university. In 1929, the university's first graduation was held on the Chalon campus. In 1952, the university granted its first baccalaureate degrees in nursing, also the first in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
. In 1955, the university began offering graduate degree programs.
Today, Chalon is home to the university's traditional baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to:
* ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification
* Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree
* English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...
programs, offering more than 35 academic majors and minors. The most popular majors are: nursing, pre-nursing, psychology, biology, sociology, and business.
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media is a US non-profit research organization that researches gender representation in media and advocates for equal representation of women. The institute is currently headquartered at Mount Saint Mary's ...
is located at the university.
Doheny Campus
The university grew to two campuses in 1962 when it was given , holding two city blocks of Queen Anne style and Victorian mansions, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
next to the University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
. The tranquil property was formerly owned by Edward L. Doheny
Edward Laurence Doheny (; August 10, 1856 – September 8, 1935) was an American oil tycoon who, in 1892, drilled the first successful oil well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field. His success set off a petroleum boom in Southern California, a ...
and his wife, the Countess Estelle Doheny, who made their fortune in oil. The Chester Place residences were built at the turn of the century by Judge Charles Silent. The university named the campus after the Countess Doheny and her husband. Due to the Countess' desire for privacy, the Dohenys purchased all the adjacent houses and made it into a private street. The University Park campus is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city.
The Doheny campus first played host to the university's Associate in Arts program when it opened in 1962. Forty years later, in 2002, the university began its first doctoral degree, in physical therapy, which joined the other graduate programs now offered at the Doheny campus.
In 1992, the university launched its Weekend and Evening College program at the Chalon campus, which primarily focuses on providing working professionals the opportunity to complete their undergraduate degrees within four years by attending classes scheduled on weekends. The Weekend and Evening College program moved to the Doheny campus in 2006, joining a number of courses for the associate and graduate programs offered at Doheny on weekday evenings and on weekends, furthering the idea of accessibility introduced by Weekend and Evening College.
Doheny is home to the university's associate, daytime and evening graduate programs, Weekend and Evening College (undergraduate and graduate), and educational credential programs.
Demographics
The student body is 90 percent female and 10 percent male.[
]
In the media
Due to its isolated location and beautiful vistas and architecture, a number of movies and television shows have filmed on either the Doheny or Chalon campus of the university. The list includes, but is not limited to:
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Saint Mary's College
Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph
Women's universities and colleges in the United States
Universities and colleges in Los Angeles
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Educational institutions established in 1925
Catholic universities and colleges in California
Brentwood, Los Angeles
University Park, Los Angeles
1925 establishments in California
Liberal arts colleges in California
Women in California