Fall 2019 updates on colleges planning mergers, ending merger talks and moving forward from closure or near-closures
For the past few years, the potential for near-future closures, mergers and acquisitions has been high on the list of higher ed leaders’ conversation topics. Some experts predicted we will see half of America’s postsecondary institutions closing over the course of the next decade. Others envisioned a handful of closures but a surge in mergers and acquisitions. And, sure enough, related headlines have been creeping into UB and other national media outlets. This month has been a particularly busy one for news of colleges planning mergers, ending merger talks and moving forward from closure or near-closure.
Beginning the merger journey
On October 2, officials from Roosevelt University in Chicago announced plans to acquire neighbor Robert Morris University. The two institutions are no strangers to partnership—with the University Center residence hall for students at both schools as well as DePaul University and Columbia College open since 2004 and a 2019 announcement that Robert Morris students would occupy part of Roosevelt’s Wabash Building residence hall.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Roosevelt has submitted the acquisition request to the Higher Learning Commission. The merger must also be approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the U.S. Department of Education, with early 2020 as the target for finalizing the deal.