Rosemont College is merging with Villanova University, where it will eventually operate as a satellite campus, the schools announced Monday.
The multi-year transition will begin in 2027, though Rosemont College will initially remain a separate entity. Rosemont staff will continue to oversee educational and some extracurricular activities during this initial phase. Students who do not complete their degree by 2028 will have "multiple options," according to a release, including the ability to transfer into Villanova's College of Professional Studies.
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Once the merger is complete, Rosemont College will be known as "Villanova University, Rosemont Campus." The schools did not provide further details on the timeline.
Rosemont College had apparently been struggling to stay afloat. An Inquirer report found that the university, located less than a mile away from Villanova's campus in Montgomery County, had been operating at a loss for five years in a row. The merger will mark the second time in recent years that Villanova has stepped in to preserve some piece of a smaller, strained Catholic university. It assumed ownership of Cabrini University's campus in Delaware County after the school announced its closure in 2023. That grounds are now known as "Villanova University, Cabrini Campus."
Rev. Peter M. Donohue, president of Villanova University, called the Rosemont merger part of his school's "long-term strategic planning" to enhance programming and support Catholic colleges.
"Our two institutions have always shared a commitment to advancing Catholic higher education," Donohue wrote in a message to alumni. "Given this shared commitment, our close physical proximity and deep alumni connections, this merger represents a unique and powerful opportunity for our two institutions."
Villanova said more details would be shared as the terms of the agreement are ironed out. The merger is subject to approval from state and federal regulators as well as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an institutional accreditor.
Rosemont College's history dates back to 1921, when the sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus founded the private, Catholic institution. It opened as a women's college and continued to operate as such for much of the school's history. The undergraduate program did not become coed until 2009.
Rosemont College offered an 11-to-1 student to faculty ratio, thanks to its small population. The campus supported 754 pupils —446 undergrads and 308 grad students — in 2022, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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