Sursum Corda (Service Organization) - History - Affiliation and Merger of Loyola and Marymount

Affiliation and Merger of Loyola and Marymount

By the mid-1960s, Loyola University of Los Angeles had unsuccessfully petitioned the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre to allow coeducation at Loyola for several years. In 1967, however, Sister McKay, President of Marymount College, received permission from Cardinal McIntyre to begin affiliation with Loyola University on Loyola’s Westchester campus. Sister McKay and Father Charles Cassassa, S.J., Ph.D., President of Loyola University, held a joint press conference to announce the affiliation. The affiliation of Marymount College and Loyola University began in 1968 when Marymount's four-year program moved to Loyola's Westchester campus; this arrangement (two independent schools on one campus) continued for five years. In 1970, the Student Governments of Loyola University (ASLU—Associated Students of Loyola University) and Marymount College (ASMC—Associated Students of Marymount College) joined to form the Associated Students of Loyola and Marymount (ASLM).

After five years of sharing faculties and facilities, Loyola University and Marymount College merged and assumed the name Loyola Marymount University in 1973. Through this union, the expanded university maintained the century-old mission of Catholic higher education in Los Angeles and incorporated the educational traditions of the Jesuits, Marymount sisters, and Orange sisters into one institution. At this time, ASLM became known as the Associated Students of Loyola Marymount University (ASLMU).

Father Donald Merrifield, S.J., Ph.D., who became president of Loyola University in 1969, continued to serve as the university's president. The academic vice president of Marymount College, Sister Renee Harrangue, R.S.H.M., Ph.D., became the provost. During Merrifield's tenure as president thirteen new buildings were constructed on Loyola Marymount's main campus including the Von der Ahe Communication Arts Building, the George Page Baseball Stadium, Doolan Hall, Gersten Pavilion, Burns Fine Art Center, the Laband Art Gallery, the Leavey Faculty Center and the Loyola Apartments. Merrifield also oversaw the expansion of Loyola Law School's campus in Pico-Union, near downtown Los Angeles. Merrifield and the university commissioned architect Frank Gehry to design the new campus, which was needed to accommodate increased enrollment.

Merrifield also implemented a number of programs to increase minority enrollment, such as financial aid packages and scholarships, and added African American and Latino studies programs. He stepped down as president of Loyola Marymount in 1984, but remained the university's chancellor until 2002.

Marymount College's four-year program subsequently separated from its two-year program. The Marymount two-year program remained incorporated as a separate institution and received accreditation in 1971 as the independently run Marymount College, Palos Verdes, which is currently operates in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. In 2010, Marymount College, Palos Verdes received accreditation as a four-year institution.

With the merger of Loyola University and Marymount College in 1973, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange joined the Society of Jesus and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary as one of the sponsoring religious communities of Loyola Marymount University. Marymount College of Orange was renamed the Orange Campus of Loyola Marymount University. The Orange Campus offered continuing education and summer courses to men and women through the 1980s.