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Wheelock College will merge into Boston University in June under an agreement announced Wednesday, bringing together the two institutions with campuses separated by about a mile.
All of Wheelock's assets and liabilities will be transferred to BU on June 1, 2018, provided regulators approve. The agreement comes several weeks after the two institutions announced in August that they had started merger talks. Wheelock, by far the smaller of the two institutions, was seeking a merger partner as it faced enrollment and financial challenges.
A new school of education, the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, will be created by the merger as BU's School of Education is combined with Wheelock's School of Education, Child Life and Family Studies. Income from Wheelock's endowment will go toward the new college.
Current Wheelock students in good standing will be able to finish their academic programs at BU. They will become students in existing BU programs, continue to study in Wheelock programs being incorporated into BU or enroll in transitional programs in which they will finish their Wheelock courses of study.
Tuition for current Wheelock students will remain at Wheelock levels but will be subject to annual percentage increases applied to BU students. Financial aid packages guaranteed by Wheelock will not be changed. All students seeking admission after the merger's completion will be subject to BU admissions requirements and tuition.
The two institutions have agreed on a process for transferring tenured Wheelock faculty members to positions at BU. Non-tenured Wheelock faculty will be considered individually for positions at BU based on program need, and Wheelock staff will be considered for positions at BU.
As soon as the merger is completed, Wheelock's campus will be used for BU academic programs.
“There is a great deal of work to be done,” Robert A. Brown, BU president, said, according to BU Today. “That work will include some difficult decisions about the scope and organization of the combined college and the integration of other programs of Wheelock College into Boston University; however, we are confident that the results will be worth the effort.”
David Chard, the president of Wheelock, will become interim dean of the new Wheelock College of Education and Human Development starting June. 1. He will be appointed to that position for at least two years.
“I believe this merger is our strongest option for preserving the mission of Wheelock College and the legacy of Lucy Wheelock long into the future, and I am pleased that we have reached this milestone,” Chard said in a statement. “President Brown and I have discussed our intent to support Wheelock students and alumni during this transition and welcome them as part of the Boston University community.”
