Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose to Combine Into Single University

Making official a likely union Mount Mercy and St. Ambrose universities announced earlier this year in the face of financial headwinds sweeping across higher education, presidents of the two Eastern Iowa Catholic campuses Thursday signed a formal agreement to combine their institutions. The universities will be fully united under St. Ambrose — the bigger and more financially robust of the two — at the end of the transition period, expected to span 18 months to two years through mid-2026. Once combined, St. Ambrose — as the nonprofit parent organization of Mount Mercy — plans to maintain the Mount Mercy campus in Cedar Rapids, its historic name, and its separate athletics program competing under the Mustangs mascot.