Marymount College, Tarrytown (also known as Marymount College of Fordham University) was a

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

which eventually became part of

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. The Marymount campus was located in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, Unit ...

. The last class graduated in 2007, and the campus was sold in 2008.

History

Johanna Butler was born on July 22, 1860, in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

, Ireland, the daughter of prosperous farmers John and Ellen Forrestal Butler. At the age of sixteen, she joined the French congregation of the

Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (known in the United States as the RSHM and in other parts of the world as RSCM) are a global Roman Catholic community of about 900 apostolic religious women. The institute was founded in 1849 in Bézie ...

(RSHM) at

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

, taking the name "Marie Joseph". In 1903, Butler was appointed superior of the congregation's convent and school on Long Island. In 1907, her cousin James Butler donated land near Tarrytown, New York for the founding of the college. The college was founded as an independent girls' boarding school by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) to "create a place of learning where women could grow and where they could receive an education that would prepare them for positions of leadership and influence in the world." In February 1908, the school opened with six students. By 1918, the school offered an advanced two-year degree. In 1919, it obtained a provisional college charter. The charter became permanent in 1924, which is the year that Marymount began granting baccalaureate degrees. Marymount College at Tarrytown was the first of several colleges founded by the RSHM (

Marymount colleges The Marymount Colleges are a group of colleges founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), an institute with French origins which was founded on February 24, 1849. When the institution expanded to the United States, its members ...

). It was the first women's college in the United States to offer a study abroad program. In 2000, Marymount entered into an agreement to consolidate with Fordham University. The college was renamed Marymount College of Fordham University. In October 2005, after two years of study, Fordham announced its plans to close Marymount in 2007. At the time, John N. Tognino, chair of the Fordham University Board of Trustees, explained that "despite the very best efforts of the faculty, administration and staff, it is no longer academically or financially feasible to continue to operate Marymount College as a separate school within the University". In August 2007, Fordham announced it would sell the Marymount campus. The decision disappointed many alumnae, as the university had purchased the college with the promise that it would try to continue to operate it as a women's institution. The university claimed unjustifiable and disproportionate costs to maintain the large campus as reason for closure. Skeptics saw the acquisition of the college as a real estate venture. On February 17, 2008, Fordham announced the sale of the campus for $27 million to EF Education, a chain of private language-instruction schools.Mytelka, Andrew (February 17, 2008
"Fordham U. Sells Marymount College Campus for $27-Million"
''

Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscriptio ...

References

{{Colleges and universities in Westchester County, New York Tarrytown, New York Former Catholic universities and colleges in the United States Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Defunct Catholic universities and colleges in the United States Marymount College, Tarrytown Educational institutions established in 1907 Educational institutions disestablished in 2007 Schools in Westchester County, New York 1907 establishments in New York (state)

History

See also

References