Come fall 2019, Divine Mercy University
will leave its cramped, rented space on Route 1 in Crystal City for its own 5-acre
campus in Loudoun County, conveniently located next to Dulles Airport, not to
mention a Cracker Barrel and Sheetz.
“(The students) are excited to have the space
and to really set down some roots,” said Jessie Tappel, senior director of
communications. So far the school has raised $3.25 million for the move, and
needs to raise $2.5 million more, according to Thomas Cunningham, chairman of
the board of directors.
Divine Mercy University, formerly called
the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, is a graduate school that offers
online master’s degrees in counseling and psychology and in-person doctoral
classes, all from the Catholic view of the human person. There are currently
around 50 on-site students, and 200 online students who frequently fly in for clinical
training.
The university, which will celebrate its
20th anniversary next year, has been searching in earnest for a permanent
campus for two years, said Legionary Father Charles J. Sikorsky, president. He
said the school has grown exponentially in the past few years, owing in part to
accreditation of the school’s doctoral degree in clinical psychology by the
American Psychological Association in 2016.
Students and faculty members were hoping
for a location near affordable housing with access to public transit. The new
Sterling facility will have more space for classrooms, a library,
administrative offices and parking. In addition to future growth, “we need the
space for the needs we have right now,” said Father Sikorsky.
The new building, which will be
renovated to suit the needs of the school, also will house the Institute for
Psychological Sciences Training Clinic, which will increase mental health
services offered in the Loudoun area. Students also will be placed in
externships around the community. “The county is worried about things like teen
suicide and opioids, so they're very interested in working with us,” said
Father Sikorsky.
The chapel will be in the center of the
new three-story building. The school community is excited to bring some
Catholic culture to the office environment, said Cunningham. “We want people to
know that this is a Catholic institution when they arrive,” he said.