Strategic Mergers in Higher Education

How proactive mergers can stabilize and enhance colleges and universities―and ensure their future.

With the pool of high school graduates decreasing, national and global competition increasing, and the need to invest in new technologies and approaches growing, many universities and small colleges alike are struggling―not just to thrive, but to survive. In this challenging environment, mergers and consolidations are often viewed as options of last resort. Strategic Mergers in Higher Education, however, argues that college and university mergers are a legitimate and proactive strategic option to help ensure success, maximize quality and service, and yield the best return for faculty and students.

In this thoughtful book, Ricardo Azziz and his coauthors―including higher education leaders who have led successful consolidations―address the many questions surrounding institutional mergers. When, they ask―and why―should a merger be considered? How can leaders deal effectively with the many challenges and opposition that a merger will inevitably face? What are the predictors of merger failure and success? And how do we successfully address the postmerger cultural divide?

This thorough text demonstrates how mergers can dramatically accelerate the goals of postsecondary institutions. The book is informed by an extensive review of published reports, interviews with over thirty higher education leaders, individual case studies, and the experiences of the authors themselves. Addressing numerous critical questions, this practical guide is aimed at higher education leaders and their boards, the campus leaders charged with executing transformative mergers, and any policy makers interested in change management or the future of higher education.

Ricardo Azziz is a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a research professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York; the director of the Center for Higher Education Mergers & Acquisitions (CHEMA) at the Foundation for Research and Education Excellence; and principal at SPH Consulting Group. He led the merger that created Georgia Regents (now Augusta) University, serving as its founding president.

Guilbert C. Hentschke is the Richard T. Cooper and Mary Catherine Cooper Chair Emeritus at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education, where he served as dean from 1988 to 2000.

Lloyd A. Jacobs is President Emeritus of the University of Toledo, where he led its merger with the Medical College of Ohio.

Bonita C. Jacobs led the merger of Gainesville State College with North Georgia College and State University to form the University of North Georgia, where she served as the founding president.