Ricardo Azziz has held numerous executive positions in higher education and led the merger that resulted in Georgia Regents University, now Augusta University. He is principal at Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education Consulting Group.
This op-ed series offers insight from an expert who’s led a college merger and specializes in higher education partnerships.
ACCESS THE FULL SERIES
Last month I had the opportunity to speak to a roomful of college executives interested in the potential of mergers, acquisitions and partnerships at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges annual meeting in Atlanta. Co-leading the session with me was Bonita Jacobs, who was president of North Georgia College & State University when it was merged with Gainesville State College in 2013 to create the University of North Georgia — an institution she still leads.
We primarily focused on the “why” of mergers, discussing what happens to many institutions, notably those that are smaller, if they do not try and find a merger partner in a timely manner. About 15% of all degree-granting institutions in the U.S. have closed in the past decade, and greater than 50% of all school closures in the past 50 years have occurred since 2010.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Dr. Ricardo Azziz is an internationally recognized physician, scientist, and executive. Dr. Azziz’s biomedical research focuses on the study of androgen excess disorders. He has published over 500 original peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reviews. He serves as Chief Science and Strategy Officer for The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
He previously served as Deputy Director, Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute and Assistant Dean, Clinical and Translational Sciences at UCLA; Director, Center for Androgen-Related Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; and founder and Executive Director/Senior Executive Director, Androgen Excess & PCOS Society.
READ THE FULL RELEASE
More than half of the nearly 1,300 institutional closures of the past 50 years have occurred in the past decade — with roughly 15% of all degree-granting institutions of higher education in the U.S. closing in the last 10 years. And college and university closures do not benefit anybody.
By now we have all heard of the recent analysis by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, or NSCRC, in collaboration with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, or SHEEO, which reported that after a college closes, many of the displaced students never earn a degree. That closures detrimentally impact students should not come as a surprise.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
College and university administrators and trustees in the United States and those who follow the industry closely know its many challenges. Changing demographics, shrinking enrollments, online competition in locales that were previously protected, the unfortunate impact of rankings, higher costs of regulation and staff benefits, reduced state support, a public that is losing faith in higher education’s value and power to enhance social mobility, undergraduate excess capacity, and much, much more.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
When Covid-19 first tore through the nation, hundreds of college presidents sent students home, looked across their empty campuses and wondered how they were going to pay their bills.
Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun saw an opportunity. On May 15, 2020, he called six senior managers to his office. “Colleges and universities will be challenged,” he told his cabinet, he recalls. “This may be the time to start looking at mergers and partnerships.”
READ THE FULL RELEASE
As would be predicted by a landscape characterized by declining enrollment, negative demographics, excess capacity, and increasing fiscal pressures, all exacerbated by a pandemic of historic proportions, there has been much in higher education news regarding institutional mergers. From the consolidation efforts at PASSHE to the mergers of Willamette-Pacific Northwest College of Art, Sierra Nevada-University of Nevada at Reno, Delaware State University-Wesley College, Saint Joseph’s University-the University of the Sciences, Pine Manor-Boston College, and many others, it has been an active merger and acquisition scene in the industry. And the occasional pushback, of course.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Throughout its history, the UAB Excellence in Business Top 25 program has celebrated the success of dozens of alumni-owned or alumni-managed businesses. Inclusion in the Top 25 awards program is determined through a revenue verification process administered by Warren Averett.
READ THE FULL RELEASE
Philanthropy and community service are integral parts of metro Birmingham’s business community.
The region’s numerous charitable organizations and foundations play a major role in the local economy – working on issues like health care, education, workforce development and other initiatives that have a significant connection to the quality of life in Birmingham.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
As the financial pressure on small colleges continues to increase and the number of colleges closing continues to tick upward, more and more institutions are considering whether it’s time to consider merging with another institution. There are many potential benefits to doing so: Administrative costs can be shared, merged institutions can provide more-diverse curricula and more-robust student services, and merged institutions can achieve greater reach and breadth, which can in turn enhance their branding, enrollment, and financial stability. In short, a merger can help ensure a college’s survival, at least in some form.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
