On the contrary, if Mary Grove were to close, it would quickly become an albatross – 53 acres of Gothic anachronism, empty and an eyesore, perhaps a vortex of decay. After the university eliminated its undergraduate programs in 2017 and waged a year-long losing battle to retain its graduate school, Kresge's executives and board had little choice but to shift energy. If, as it ultimately did, it fails to save Marygrove's current operations, before it falls into the hands of bankruptcy courts or building collectors, and before disaster can no longer be prevented, this Other productive uses for the space would have to be found.
Marygrove College was founded by the Catholic Women's Order known as the Sisters of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or IHM for short. Although the university became independent in her early 21st century, the Sisters retained considerable influence there and had a mortgage on the property. Mary Grove's educational philosophy is built around Catholic principles of social conduct, in line with the founding vision of the Order and its approach to ministry, and both the Sisters and the College's Board of Governors and Executive Committee and had the following views on education in general. It is a means to enable young people to pursue a more just and humane world. “We always saw the university as a mission,” said Sister Jane Herb, past president of the IHM congregation. “We thought it would be something that would serve the people of Detroit, and we wanted it to be an asset to the city and the community, something that would make people's lives better.” He urged that when universities close, they should honor their founding principles and use their campuses to contribute to social justice and community service. So the prospect of it becoming a neglected relic was at least as frightening to the IHM Her Sisters as it was to city officials, community leaders, and Kresge's staff.
So when foundation leaders began considering what they could do to protect the Marygrove campus from bankruptcy and dereliction, they had the full attention and support of the Sisters. It was the first hope of all involved to preserve the university, or at least parts of it, even if that meant some degree of downsizing and restructuring, which almost certainly will be the case. it is obvious. When Mary Grove College's new president, Elizabeth A. Burns, first approached Kresge for help in early 2016, she still had to restructure the college's nearly $8 million in debt, which had been going on for years. The company was hoping for temporary assistance to reverse declining sales and chronic operating deficits and increase profits. Enough new donations to keep the entire organization afloat. However, after searching hard for a viable path to reaching these goals, she and the university's board of trustees reluctantly decided that the only possible survival strategy was to close Marygrove's undergraduate program and replace graduate and professional programs. We came to the conclusion that we should continue with only the curriculum and operate only one or more departments. 2 of 5 historic buildings. The difficult decision was announced in August 2017.
Even then, the university depended on large operating grants from Kresge and foundation support for retiring faculty and students, and prospects for stemming the financial hemorrhage were far from slim. By the end of the next academic year, the situation had become even more dire, leaving the Marygrove Board with little choice but to cancel the remaining programs and close the college at the end of the fall semester.
Although the loss of the university was heartbreaking for students and faculty, the Sisters, and the Foundation, it nevertheless created what would eventually lead to a convergence of amazing opportunities for Wendy Lewis Jackson. As Kresge's representative for KEYS: Detroit and Hope Starts Here, Jackson is leading the search for locations to establish exemplary early childhood education centers, one of which is in the community near campus. she strongly desired. At the same time, she was also faced with prime real estate in the heart of the same region when she was appointed as the Foundation's lead staff member for Mary Grove Rescue. Even if the university managed to survive on a smaller scale, much of the campus was about to require major new uses.