Cardinal Mooney Building Accommodates
Growing Student Body
by Daniel Gallio

Using the Cardinal Mooney Building for graduate and undergraduate classes expands Sacred Heart's campus. It was formerly a high school seminary.

It is a problem the seminary is happy to have, with a solution, thankfully, that is only a stone's throw away.

The student population at Sacred Heart has been expanding steadily over the past decade. Including seminarians and commuter students, enrollment this fall was over five hundred: ninety-seven seminarians and 407 commuters. This total is forty percent higher than in the fall of 2000, and almost double the number of students enrolled ten years ago. This fall's enrollment included the largest number of seminarians since Sacred Heart became a major seminary in 1988, and the Institute for Ministry here still ranks as one of the largest lay ministry programs in the United States.

So, what is the problem? Quite simply, Sacred Heart has been running out of classroom space. This is no surprise considering the seminary is offering over two hundred courses this year on the graduate and undergraduate levels. Also, class sizes are growing.

The solution to this "happy fault" of too many students and not enough space appeared unexpectedly this past spring.

Since the early 1990s, Cornerstone Schools, a community funded, faith-based school system for urban children, had been leasing the former Cardinal Mooney Latin School located on campus. Cornerstone moved to a new location after the school year ended, which left the building empty and unused; but not for long. Over the summer, three classrooms were cleaned and painted and other cosmetic improvements were made to the building's interior. Now called the Cardinal Mooney Building (named after Edward Cardinal Mooney, Detroit's first archbishop), the seminary held six courses there in the fall and six this winter term.

"We are excited about the expansion," says Fr. Todd Lajiness, Sacred Heart's dean of studies. "It points to a concrete growth of our student body and a growing popularity of our programs." He also notes that utilizing the Cardinal Mooney Building creates a more campus-like feel to the grounds. Parking is no problem, either, since the building is adjacent to the main parking lot.

The Cardinal Mooney Building will continue to be expanded according to need. Plans are underway to upgrade the student lounge with multiple vending machines and create a reading room with comfortable chairs. As funds permit, the grounds around the building will be landscaped which will enhance the campus-like environment.