Chapman University, Western University of Health Sciences Announce Exploration of Merger
In separate actions taken Wednesday, Feb. 12, the boards of trustees of
Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and Western University of Health
Sciences in Pomona, Calif. agreed to name task forces to explore the
possibility of merging the two universities and forming a combined
university that reflects the heritage of each.
In a joint statement, Western President Philip Pumerantz and Chapman
President James L. Doti said the exploratory action was being taken
because they believe one university that combines the considerable assets
and goals of the existing schools would be much stronger than the two
universities on their own.
Chapman is a 142-year-old, comprehensive university with 4,700 students on
its Orange campus. In addition to its wide-ranging undergraduate
programs, it offers graduate degrees in business and economics, law, film
and television, physical therapy, communication arts and education.
Western, with 1,400 students, is a 25-year-old graduate health sciences
institution that grants degrees in nursing, osteopathic medicine,
pharmacy, physical therapy and physician assistant studies and includes
the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions. This August
it will welcome the inaugural class of its new college of veterinary
medicine, just the second veterinary school in California and the first
new one in the nation in 20 years.
Chapman President Doti said, “”Health care certainly will be one of the
most rapidly growing industries of the 21st century. This merger would
continue Chapman’s evolution from a regional liberal arts college to a
significant comprehensive national university. Joining with this dynamic
graduate university of health sciences would make our future even more
promising and increase our contributions to health care service.””
Western President Pumerantz said, “”By joining with Chapman, we will create
a new university that is unique in Southern California. It will be a
comprehensive, private university in a personalized setting that not only
provides a fine undergraduate education but also offers graduate degrees
in disciplines ranging from education and business to law and human and
veterinary medicine. It truly will be a special place.””
Both presidents stressed that what is being announced today is the
beginning of a process to determine whether the universities actually
should merge. That process is expected to take 10 to 12 months, they
said. During that time, teams from both universities will conduct due
diligence and explore in depth the pros and cons of a merger. The boards
of trustees of each university will make the final decisions.
“”We understand this is the first step of the journey,”” said Pumerantz, who
is the founding president of Western. “”Along the way, there will be bumps
in the road, and how we work together to surmount those bumps will tell us
whether we’re really good candidates for a merger.””
Said Doti, “”We are undertaking the exploration of this merger at a time
when both universities are strong financially and academically. That’s
the best time to contemplate a merger – when neither side has to do it.
Hence, we view this as a merger of equals. Our motivation is to create a
unique university that will attract outstanding faculty and students from
the region and around the nation.””
The idea for the merger arose last November as Chapman and Western held
talks about developing joint degree programs. President Doti raised the
question with President Pumerantz of whether he thought it would be
advantageous for the two universities to merge.
Western’s campus is located on 22 acres in downtown Pomona, about 24 miles
north of Chapman’s historic campus in Orange. The two presidents said no
consideration would be given to combining the university campuses. Other
matters, such as the name of the combined university, the organizational
structure and the makeup of the board of trustees will have to be
determined during the exploratory period, they said.
Today’s announcement was made in Orange, where President Doti introduced
President Pumerantz at the conclusion of his annual state-of-the-
university address, and then at a news conference in Pomona.