MANSFIELD, Pa. — A
new partnership between Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, and
Mansfield University has the potential to alter the face of higher education in
eastern and north central Pennsylvania for years to come.
As part of the
ongoing system redesign plans within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher
Education (State System), the universities will explore opportunities to collaborate
and build on their existing strengths, create greater efficiencies, and expand affordable,
high-quality educational opportunities for students throughout the region and
beyond.
When the State
System began reviewing the potential for university integrations, it did so
with the understanding that data and analysis would drive the process and could
point toward pairings/combinations that provide a greater probability for
success. One of the pairings that was
originally identified was an integration between Lock Haven and Mansfield. An
initial financial review suggests that the addition of Bloomsburg to this
pairing provides the needed support, stability, and scalability to increase the
probability of success for the State System’s regional landscape. Together the three institutions would
expand educational opportunities for all students and leverage the talents of
its faculty and staff.
“I look forward to
continuing our existing collaborations with Mansfield and building on those
partnerships, and expanding these collaborations to include Lock
Haven. This potential integration would allow us to leverage our
collective strengths for the benefit of our students and their success, and would
create a synergy whose impact will be greater than the sum of its parts,” said
Bashar Hanna, president of Bloomsburg University.
“Our institutions
combined have over 480 years of commitment and success in helping students and
families achieve their dreams and goals and improve their lives through degree
attainment. Leveraging our combined strengths would allow us to expand and improve
that access to those affordable, life-changing opportunities,” said Robert
Pignatello, president of Lock Haven University.
“University
integration presents an incredible opportunity for Mansfield University to
build upon existing collaborations with Bloomsburg and Lock Haven,” said
Charles Patterson, president of Mansfield University. “Creating a combined
vision would allow the universities to align new and current degree programs,
meet regional economic and workforce needs, and transform the delivery of
higher education to better serve the students of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.”
The addition of
Bloomsburg would provide greater opportunity and scale for the budding
partnership between Lock Haven and Mansfield to meet regional workforce needs,
and expanded higher education opportunities for Commonwealth students and
beyond. Collectively, the three universities serve nearly 14,000 students. The existing
partnership between Lock Haven and
Mansfield will add non-degree and stackable credentials in selected high demand
occupations to the program array, all in partnership with regional employers.
Any
integration would also continue the shared services arrangement currently in
place between Bloomsburg and Mansfield for human resources, accounts payable,
and procurement services, and the partnership would be expanded to include Lock
Haven.
In addition, an integration would provide
an opportunity to shape the universities for decades to come, meet demand where
it exists, increase access to new markets, and foster enrollment growth.
As
part of this process, the brand and identities of each institution would be
respected.
These initial findings
are only the beginning of an ongoing analysis and financial review will
continue through the Board of Governors meeting in October, when the Board will
be updated on the progress of the review. The process will be broadly
consultative and will require the input of many stakeholders, including but not
limited to students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, donors, supporters,
community members, and other State System institutions.