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Seattle University, the largest private higher education institution in western Washington state, will merge with the struggling Cornish College of the Arts, officials from both colleges announced Thursday.
Seattle University will absorb Cornish College, which will retain its campus but become Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. The boards of both institutions authorized a letter of intent to combine last month, according to The Seattle Times.
University officials said it was too early to discuss the possibility of program cuts but noted they were “committed to being open and transparent in providing updates as the process moves forward.”
Cornish College has faced financial and enrollment declines for years. In 2020, the institution, unable to muster the funds to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, declared financial exigency. Emily Parkhurst, Cornish’s interim president, said the college would be “stronger when we’re together” with Seattle U.
Seattle University president Eduardo Peñalver said in a press release that the merger would not benefit Cornish but would complement the larger university’s mission of incorporating the arts into its students’ education. In March, Seattle U created a new art museum after the husband of a wealthy alumna donated 200 artworks worth about $300 million, the largest art donation to any American university in history.
While the merger still requires the approval of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and the U.S. Education Department, officials predict the transition could begin as early as next May.
