Iowa’s St. Ambrose, Mount Mercy Universities to mix

Eighteen months after a handful of Roman Catholic school presidents in Iowa gathered to speak about potential higher collaboration, two of these establishments—St. Ambrose College and Mount Mercy College—introduced at this time that they may merge.

Below the association, which was authorized by the 2 universities’ boards final week however nonetheless requires regulatory approvals, St. Ambrose will function Mount Mercy as an impartial establishment by way of 2026, when St. Ambrose will grow to be Mount Mercy’s father or mother group and function it because the Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose College.

In a sequence of interviews in current months, the presidents of the 2 establishments, Amy Novak of St. Ambrose and Todd A. Olson of Mount Mercy, took nice pains to keep away from calling the alliance a merger; their most popular time period is “strategic mixture.”

“Now we have no intention of this sounding like some form of hostile takeover,” Novak mentioned. “This isn’t about two colleges that have been prone to shut. Whereas considered one of us [St. Ambrose] is barely stronger, neither of us is taking a look at steadiness sheets that look horrible. It is a proactive effort by two robust establishments to see if we will function extra effectively, reply with extra agility and make the most of our respective strengths.”

Federal tax varieties present St. Ambrose’s revenues outpacing expenditures within the 2022–23 fiscal 12 months ($121 million versus $113 million), with Mount Mercy working at a slight deficit ($3 million on a finances of about $55 million).

However whereas neither establishment might have been going through quick existential risk, few school leaders can afford to not be on the lookout for methods to make sure long-term sustainability, the 2 presidents acknowledged.

“Right here at St. Ambrose, if we run the course as is, the 10-year projection will get form of dire pretty shortly,” mentioned Novak. “Now we have to be considering creatively about its future—can we be higher, can we do one thing that will get us to stability for the lengthy haul? Most locations attempt to do little niche-y issues that don’t actually deal with the critiques of upper schooling—small transactional wins that transfer the needle for 30 college students. We thought, what does it appear like if we predict radically in another way about what Catholic increased schooling appears like sooner or later?”

‘Not a Nice Narrative’

Together with the Northeast, Iowa and its neighbors within the Midwest are an epicenter of economic, demographic and enrollment challenges in increased schooling. Whereas just one different Iowa impartial school has closed just lately—Iowa Wesleyan College final 12 months—Drake College is among the many quite a few Midwestern establishments which have imposed important finances cuts to attempt to avert monetary peril.

“If you happen to’re dwelling in our territory, it’s not a fantastic narrative proper now,” Novak mentioned.

Novak and Olson have been amongst a barely bigger group of Iowa Catholic school presidents who met in January 2023 to discover whether or not the establishments might “flip from a aggressive to a collaborative mindset.” Whereas the gathered leaders shared concepts, most of them have been “small fixes that wouldn’t actually have sustainable long-term affect on the establishments or scholar studying,” Novak mentioned.

However she and Olson sensed a mutual “affinity” between themselves and their establishments, based mostly on similarities of their Catholic orientations (St. Ambrose is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese in Davenport, whereas Mount Mercy was based by the Sisters of Mercy in Cedar Rapids) and within the leaders’ curiosity in exploring one thing “bolder.” The 2 broke bread once more quickly after, and so they shortly folded their respective boards and management groups into the conversations.

Over the months that adopted, the 2 establishments created a set of “integration planning groups,” targeted on what Olson known as “early adopters” who have been interested by considering creatively about how the 2 universities would possibly discover a new, higher method ahead.

“We weren’t going to vary the tradition by fiat,” mentioned Olson, who famous that he did his graduate work in counseling. When individuals have been invited to take part, some, he mentioned, “backed away and scowled.”

“These responses are pure; the human nature is to guard,” he mentioned. “Our method has been to acknowledge tentativeness, that we’re navigating new territory collectively, simply preserve exploring a variety of alternative ways of doing this.”

The 2 establishments introduced an preliminary partnership in Might targeted on creating 18 graduate pathways between the 2 of their respective cities 80 miles aside. The leaders hinted strongly that they favored a deeper collaboration however acknowledged that regulatory hurdles—together with current Biden administration pointers that make the method for merging faculties extra attenuated and sometimes tougher—might get in the way in which.

However now that their respective boards have signed off, Novak and Olson are targeted on how they and their groups can capitalize on the probabilities of partnership.

“There’s positively artistic rigidity right here,” mentioned Olson. “Between sustaining the person histories and traditions [of the two universities] and coming collectively to create one thing new. Watching college leaders from each campuses design a brand new widespread shared governance mannequin.”

“Sure, that is as a lot about integration as about creation,” Novak interjected on a Zoom name. “The chair of the biology division could also be at one establishment, whereas the chair of enterprise could also be on the different. It’s a journey of interested by how we co-create.”

Optimistic Campuses

Many faculties that undergo mergers have a tendency to go away their workers and college students rattled, actually because a lot has occurred behind the scenes that constituents are distrustful.

Richard Barrett, an affiliate professor of political science who represented Mount Mercy on a joint college group exploring the potential partnership, praised leaders of the 2 establishments for his or her transparency all through the method. “If there’s one clear advantage that President Olson has had because the starting, it’s been honesty,” Barrett mentioned. “If he can’t rule out the destructive reply—that factor you’re most nervous about—he’ll say so.”

Barrett, who simply completed a stint in college governance, was amongst these introduced into the inside circle early on across the potential partnership between the 2 establishments. “We have been informed two years in the past that our establishment was on the lookout for methods to collaborate with different small personal establishments, particularly Catholic ones.”

The upper ed headlines are stuffed with tales of “colleges ready till it’s too late,” Barrett mentioned. “It’s nice to be a part of an establishment that’s trying 10, 15 years forward, as an alternative of only one. That’s what I’m most thrilled about: that we have now leaders who would do that far sufficient prematurely.”