A book chronicling Notre Dame of Maryland University’s rich history from its opening in 1895 through its centennial in 1995 was published in March 2021 by Cornell University Press.

Meticulously researched by Sister Mary Oates, Pursuing Truth: How Gender Shaped Catholic Education at the College of Notre Dame depicts the courage of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) foundresses to establish and sustain the nation’s first Catholic college to award female students a four-year degree.

The book tells the stories of the pioneering Catholic women educators and administrators who taught generations of students, guided the school’s development through adversity, and maintained its identity as a women’s liberal arts college. It celebrates the fortitude of the women who paved the way for the school that would become today’s Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Pursuing Truth is available for purchase online and is free for download as an e-book. 

Author Mary J. Oates Discusses her book