Declining enrollments at private colleges and universities can force them to find creative solutions. In Seattle, Cornish College of the Arts has announced it is joining with Seattle University.
Cornish was founded 110 years ago in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. It has since moved to more modern facilities in South Lake Union. According to The Seattle Times, the schools will retain their separate campuses.
Seattle University, a Jesuit school located on First Hill, will become the controlling entity of Cornish and get a new fine arts program. Cornish will become known as Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University.
Seattle U also recently received a $300 million gift of art and has announced plans to build a museum.
Together, both schools will have new opportunities for inter-disciplinary innovation and collaborations across fields such as music and computer science, or business and fine arts.
"This is definitely a case of ‘one plus one equals three,’” said Eduardo Peñalver, Seattle University president, in the announcement.
Negotiations will take place over the next few months, with a goal of completing the merger in approximately two years.
