Since its founding over 85 years ago by the Sisters of Mercy, Mount Mercy has been many things: a girls' academy for training young teachers and nurses, a two-year college for women, a four-year coed liberal arts college, and now a full university with undergraduate and graduate programs. But we’ve never lost sight of our founding mission: to provide a career-launching, life-affirming education in service of the common good. Our 1,800+ students come from all over Iowa and the world. They choose Mount Mercy for our small, hands-on classes, meaningful faculty interaction, vibrant student life and our commitment to leadership and compassionate service. Mount Mercy alumni are the backbone of their eastern Iowa communities—nurses, teachers, business professionals, and civic leaders—and living proof of the merits of a Mercy education.