FINDLAY — Bluffton University and the University of Findlay announced plans Wednesday afternoon to merge. Both campuses would remain open, remain affiliated with their current religious institutions and maintain separate athletics teams.
Katherine Fell, the University of Findlay president, and Jane Wood, the Bluffton University president, announced they signed a memorandum of understanding, showing their intention to merge Bluffton’s operations with Findlay’s. Each university’s board of trustees approved the move in February, with the merger anticipated to be completed by fall 2025.
Findlay and Bluffton would become one academic institution with two campuses. The institutions launched a website, FindlayBlufftonFuture.com, to provide updates. No decision has been made on Bluffton University’s name at this time, according to the website’s frequently asked questions section.
“We’re all aware that higher education is facing significant changes and challenges,” Fell said in a press release. “These times call upon us to be innovative and forward-thinking. From a vantage point in the future, we will look back at this moment in the history of higher education as one that required new approaches and bold actions. I believe this merger will prove to be both.”
The campuses are only 20 miles apart, and each could “innovate in response to the changing climate of higher education while honoring individual campus traditions,” according to the press release.
“Our early interactions have made clear that we share a commitment to preparing generations of students to find and live out their callings,” Wood said in a press release. “By combining the best of pre-professional and liberal arts programs, our institutions will become even better at equipping future students to discover and to research what will ultimately bring meaning and purpose to their lives. We are stronger together.”
Both universities “come to this potential merger from a place of financial stability,” according to the website.
The University of Findlay was established in 1882 and has a 403-acre campus. It intends to remain affiliated with the Churches of God, General Conference. Pending NCAA approval, it would continue to participate in NCAA Division II as the Oilers. It currently offers 88 bachelor’s degrees, 11 master’s degrees and five doctoral-level degree programs, with an average annual enrollment of 3,500 students.
The University of Bluffton was founded in 1899 and has a 65-acre campus. It plans to remain affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. It would continue to participate in Division III athletics as the Beavers. Bluffton has more than 90 majors, minors and interdisciplinary programs, as well as five master’s degree programs, with an average annual enrollment of 700 students.
The universities received a grant from the Transformational Partnerships Fund, Fell said, noting it helped “support a third-party due diligence report assessing the benefits and risks of a merger.” Higher Ed Consulting Solutions generated the report and found no major barriers while identifying many benefits.
Regulatory approvals for the merger should take 12 to 15 months. Until then, both universities will continue to operate independently.
“Both Findlay and Bluffton have immensely strong roots, and together we can have a brighter future,” Fell said. “Together, we can establish an even stronger premier institution of higher education in Northwest Ohio.”
