Marymount California University Merges with Saint Leo University

The board of trustees of both Marymount California University and Saint Leo University announced, July 29, that they voted to sign an agreement to integrate Marymount California into the latter university.

“Faced with the mounting pressures that are affecting small, private liberal arts colleges, MCU considered several options to continue its long tradition of offering a teaching-focused and student-centered education,” Marymount stated on its website.

Marymount California University has been afflicted with troubles in recent years, especially regarding finances. In 2016, the WASC Senior College and University Commission renewed Marymount California’s accreditation for six years, however in a commission action letter sent after the accreditation visit, the organization expressed “serious concerns” regarding enrollment projections and financial management.

In 2017, Marymount California University abruptly closed its Lake County campus in Lucerne after its opening about four years prior. A year later, the university appointed trustee Brian Marcotte as its new president after the previous president, Lucas Lamadrid, left the position for conflicting reasons amid sexual harassment lawsuits.

In early 2021, Marymount California University applied for the federal Paycheck Protection Program, a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. According to the U.S Small Business Administration database, the university was approved for almost $2 million in loans.

As stated by Jeffrey Senese, president of Saint Leo University, Saint Leo will assume the current estimated $3.7 million of Marymount’s debt. Yet, Saint Leo would also assume control of Marymount’s buildings and property, which is valued at $60 million.

Saint Leo had its fair share of troubles in recent years as well. In the U.S. Department of Education’s reports the university shuttered some of its education centers in early 2021 due to dwindling enrollment numbers during the pandemic.

With the new ownership, Marymount is to undergo a name and brand change. However, it will not become a branch campus, but rather an “additional location of Saint Leo University, under its administration and governance.”

“We expect plenty of new opportunities for students, including new academic programs, majors and experiential learning…Even with the combined institutions, students will still call the Rancho Palos Verdes campus their university home and learn from the same supportive and committed faculty and staff,” the university stated in an announcement.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, the Community Development Department Staff will be meeting with Marymount’s representatives in order to discuss the merger process, such as any amendments to the existing entitlements.

As it is early in the process, Senior Planner Amy Seeraty shared that Marymount representatives “haven’t proposed anything yet … and [the department staff] haven’t even looked into the permit that would involve amendments to the entitlement.”

As such, it also remains uncertain if this merger will affect residents who live in the surrounding Rancho Palos Verdes area.

The process of merging includes receiving accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. This process may extend until Jan 2023.

“[U]ntil then, Marymount intends to continue to operate as they have in the past at their Rancho Palos Verdes campus,” stated an administrative report from the city.