Marymount Graduates First Class of BA Students President Brophy Makes Surprise Announcement

On May 12, Marymount College presented its first graduating class of baccalaureate degree students. The graduates and their family and friends heard an inspirational commencement speaker, Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball fame. Awarded an honorary doctorate by the college, Lasorda's remarks were enthusiastically received by an audience of 1,500 people gathered at the college’s main campus in Rancho Palos Verdes.

From his first remarks, Lasorda encouraged the Marymount graduates to be men and women of tenacity. “There are three types of people,” said Lasorda. “Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.” The vivacity and wisdom he shared with the new graduates was met with a standing ovation as his remarks concluded.

Dr. Michael Brophy, president of Marymount College made a surprise announcement at the commencement ceremony’s conclusion that gives the college’s BA graduates an opportunity for continued study and college-sponsored internships at the graduate level, without tuition or fees, for up to 12 units of study.

“Now as we send our first BA graduates out into a world that is still recovering from the worst economic crisis in two generations, we want to continue to support our students as they begin to work or consider graduate programs,” said Dr. Brophy.

Formerly a two-year college, in 2010 the college began offering BA programs in Liberal Studies, Business and Media Arts. At that time the college made a commitment – a Marymount Promise -- to meet the needs of our BA students throughout their formative time at the college and since that time has worked continually with upper division students as new faculty and staff were hired, a second campus built in San Pedro and additional academic programs developed.

Dr. Brophy said to the assembled graduates, “Marymount's promise to you, our BA graduates, will continue. Beginning in September, we will offer you the opportunity to enroll in up to 12 graduate credits as guests of the college, in both graduate coursework and in graduate internships. There will be no tuition fees for you, our first four-year degree graduates, as these courses are meant to support you during one of the most formative periods in your life. You extended your trust to us when you enrolled at Marymount and now we want to extend this opportunity to you in return."

Dr. Brophy will be teaching the college's first graduate course in the fall 2012 semester and full details on registering for graduate offerings will be posted on the college website in June. These courses are the first step toward the offering of full graduate degrees in the future.