The University of Mary, the only Catholic university in North Dakota, was founded in 1955 as the two-year Mary College by the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery. It became a four-year degree-granting institution in 1959 and achieved university status in 1986. The University of Mary has been accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1969.

Since its beginning, the University of Mary has sought to respond to the needs of people in the region. Its short history is one of rapid expansion. Student enrollment rose from 69 in 1959, the year of its incorporation, to 2444 in 2001.

Five buildings of the campus were designed by renowned architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981). The Sisters of Annunciation engaged him to build their monastery and a girls’ high school, a complex completed in 1959. Today that facility serves the University as the Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership. The first four buildings of the long-anticipated campus were also designed by Breuer, a project completed in 1968. Buildings constructed, expanded, or purchased to meet the demands of a growing student population include the following:

• University Hall, Science Hall, Arno Gustin Hall, North Residence (1968)
• McDowell Activity Center (1973, 1987, and 1992)
• Casey Center for Nursing Education (1976)
• Student Apartments (1977 and 1989
• Butler Center for Lifelong Learning (1982)
• Hillside Hall (1992)
• Clairmont Center for Performing Arts (1992)
• Greg Butler Hall (1996)
• Welder Library (1998)
• Leach Field House (2000)
• Leach Center for Student Life (2000)
• Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership (2000)
• Harold Schafer Leadership Center (2000)
• Boniface Hall (2000)
• University of Mary Fargo Center (2000)

The University continues to strive for quality in its curricular offerings and student support services. The change from college to university status in 1986 brought the implementation of master’s degree programs in nursing, management and education. In addition to those initial programs, master’s degrees are offered in physical therapy, occupational therapy, management and business administration. The opening of the Butler Center for Lifelong Learning in Bismarck added a much needed site for classes and service to the local area. With the launching of the College for Professional Studies in 1996, the University opened a center in Fargo, North Dakota, in January 1997, offering undergraduate and graduate programs for the adult learner. Responding to the need for services, the University has off-campus sites and is expanding its delivery of educational services to include distance learning.

The University of Mary set new strategic directions in 2001 with its vision for the future as America’s Leadership University. The University is committed to providing leadership experiences for every student including a competence-based curriculum which more effectively combines liberal learning with professional preparation, a values base that is foundational to character development and ethical decision-making, a service experience in which curricular and co-curricular learning come together.