The name 'Marymount' has long been associated with excellence in education. The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, founders of Marymount University, have a long history of providing thoughtful responses to societal needs. Today, elementary, secondary, and collegiate institutions bearing the name 'Marymount' are located in California, New York, Virginia, England, France, Italy, and Mexico. Each school is sponsored by the order but remains autonomous and subject to its own governing board.
Béziers, a busy industrial city in southern France, was in 1849 the first home of the Institute of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Founded by Father Jean Antoine Gailhac and by Mother St. Jean Pelissier-Cure, the new community dedicated itself primarily to education.
In 1907 the first American 'Marymount' was founded in Tarrytown, New York, by Mother Joseph Butler. Soon other educational institutions followed in this country and abroad: private, parochial, and tuition-free schools, as well as orphanages and universities.
Marymount University was founded as a women's college in 1950 at the suggestion of Bishop Peter L. Ireton of Richmond and with the energetic effort of Mother Gerard Phelan. Thirteen freshmen entered the first year, and nine of them comprised the first graduating class in 1952. In 1960 the institution was incorporated as Marymount College of Virginia, an independent college governed by an autonomous board of directors.
Expansion of the physical plant and facilities attended the increasing enrollment. From the original property, which included a mansion, stone guest house, and two cottages—all comprising the residence of Rear Admiral Presley M. Rixey, White House physician to Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt—the institution has grown to be a modern residential education complex.
From 1950 to 1972, as a college, Marymount offered only the associate degree. In 1973, it became a senior college offering the bachelor's degree in more than 20 fields. In 1979, graduate programs leading to the master's degree were added. The first male students were admitted in 1972 in a nursing program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The institution continued to focus on the education of women at the undergraduate level, but beginning in 1979 with the addition of coeducational graduate programs, male students matriculated in increasing numbers. In 1986 the institution responded to its changing student profile by becoming coeducational at all levels and changing its name to Marymount University.
The University responded to its dramatic enrollment growth by acquiring new buildings near the Main Campus and increasing accessibility through a shuttle service. The Ballston Campus, established in 1992, houses classrooms, offices, computer laboratories, and support services. Today, Marymount University reaches out to the neighboring community with off-campus offerings at corporate and government sites, medical centers, public schools, and its Loudoun Academic Center.
Marymount University is an independent institution related to the Roman Catholic Church. It is governed by a Board of Trustees numbering more than 30 men and women. Among them are members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, graduates of Marymount University, and corporate and professional executives.