Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people. - Peter Strople

The Marygrove College story began with a vision of doing what’s right. The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who founded and sponsored Marygrove throughout its history, educated pioneer children in Monroe, Michigan, in the mid-1800s; educated college women for meaningful employment from 1905; moved to Detroit in 1927 to educate women in the growing city; educated minorities from 1968 and male students from 1971; remained committed to its independence and its place in Detroit; and espoused social and ecological justice, all the while anchoring the northwest Detroit neighborhood that grew around the campus.

The educational landscape changed drastically in the state of Michigan as elsewhere in the nation. The high school population dwindled such that all colleges and universities were competing for the same smaller number of students. Financial woes persisted from the mid-2000s through 2019, which forced the College to close its undergraduate programs at the end of 2017 and its graduate programs at the end of 2019.

This momentous decision was made after intense negotiation, deliberation and prayer. It is heartrending to close an iconic institution like Marygrove, which, for its entirety, has been guiding, educating and molding students into citizen leaders as well as professionals in the fields of medicine, law, education, business, journalism, human resources, science, social work, social activism, and many, many more. The nearly 44,000 Marygrove alumni who have carried and yet today convey her teachings, her inspiration and her love into the world make the legacy of Marygrove College a living legacy.

On the following pages of www.marygrove.edu, you will read the history, know the mission, vision and values, and be inspired by the hallmarks of a school for the ages.

May Our Lady of Marygrove, whose statue continues to watch over the Marygrove Campus, bless you always. God bless Marygrove.

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. - Matthew 7:12