(NCR. Stephen Beale).
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts has become one of 21 Catholic colleges across the country to shut its doors, merge with another institution, or announce plans to do so since 2016. On May 11, more than a dozen graduates of the Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts will receive their diplomas, following in the tradition of others who have turned their tassels to the left, strolled out onto campus, and tossed their mortarboards into the crisp mountain air. They will be the last class of Magdalen graduates. Nearly 50 years after the school, heeding the call of Vatican II for laity to play a larger leadership role in the life of the Church, enrolled its first freshmen, Magdalen has become one of 21 Catholic colleges across the country to shut its doors, merge with another institution, or announce plans to do so since 2016, according to data from Higher Ed Dive analyzed by the Cardinal Newman Society.