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BU, Wheelock agree to merger terms

Wheelock College officially becomes part of Boston University on June 1 of next year - and its president will stay on as dean of BU’s new Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.

BU President Robert Brown announced the successful conclusion of merger talks in a message to BU staff today.

The cornerstone of the merger will be the combination of our School of Education with the equivalent school at Wheelock College to form the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (WCEHD) as an academic unit within Boston University. Boston University will commit additional funding and resources to the support of new faculty positions and expanded programming at WCEHD. In addition, although the present Wheelock College endowment will be integrated into that of Boston University (conferring the advantage of investment scale), income from that endowment will be deployed to support WCEHD faculty, students, and programs.

He adds:

The combination of the programs of the two schools and the additional resources we plan to deploy gives Boston University the opportunity to commit with renewed energy to our long-standing efforts to promote quality early childhood and K–12 education as the foundation for the prosperity and stability of our city and the nation. We believe that BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development will be one of the leading colleges of education in the country, focused on clinical practice, scholarship, and community engagement. The commitment to establish and support this new college will, I believe, appropriately preserve and enhance the great legacy of Lucy Wheelock and Wheelock College.

We are also pleased to announce that the president of Wheelock College, Dr. David Chard, has agreed to lead the initial development of BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development by assuming the role of interim dean of the college beginning on June 1, 2018. Dr. Chard served as the founding dean of the Simmons School of Education & Human Development at Southern Methodist University and associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He holds a PhD in special education from the University of Oregon and is a prolific researcher and writer, with particular interest in instructional practices that meet the needs of students with learning disabilities. He has held faculty positions at Boston University, University of Texas-Austin, and University of Oregon.

Other academic units within Wheelock College will be integrated into similar programs at Boston University. A process has been agreed to for determining the titles and responsibilities that will be assumed by currently tenured Wheelock faculty when they transfer to Boston University. The continuation of non-tenured faculty members at Wheelock College will be decided on a case-by-case basis according to the needs of the relevant academic units at Boston University.

Similarly, the administrative and operations functions of Wheelock College will be merged into equivalent units at Boston University, and Boston University will offer Wheelock staff appropriate positions where it is practical to do so.

Current Wheelock students will be offered the opportunity to transfer to Boston University in the fall of 2018 into existing BU programs; or into select Wheelock programs that will be incorporated into Boston University; or, in some cases, into transitional programs that Boston University will “teach out” as part of its commitment to successful program completion for Wheelock students. For all current Wheelock College students, the net tuition (net of financial aid) will be the same as their cost would have been to attend Wheelock College. Beginning in 2018, admission of all new students will be through Boston University, using our standards and processes.


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Comments

BU is going to launch a takeover of the Fenway

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Seems like BC would be a better fit for Emmanuel.

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Glad to see this come together as a calmly negotiated merger. If Wheelock could not maintain it's independence, this was a good alternative.

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Simmons College School of Library and Information Science would do well to merge with University of Massachusetts Boston or Northeastern University and develop a "Teaching Library" on the campus of Boston Public Library like "Teaching Hospitals" have been developed for health professions.

Compare University at Albany Department of Information Science http://www.albany.edu/information-science/

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They would never spin off Library School, its a hallmark for them, much less to a state school with limited funds...

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That's some prime real estate. Simmons, Windsor, and and ever-devouring hospitals would love to divvy it up.

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"In this agreement, all assets and liabilities of Wheelock College will be transferred to Boston University on June 1, 2018."

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It's an asset of Wheelock so I'm assuming BU will get to have it.

Don't get excited. Probably will be sold off for luxury condos.

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more exciting for that real estate to stay with a tax exempt university with billion dollar plus endowments over being converted into housing?

Choosing tax exempt billionaires over millionaires is not striking a blow for the proletariat.

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i could see them moving the existing school of ed (on comm ave) to the wheelock campus and redeveloping that comm ave parcel instead. the ed buildings at BU are arguably the worst that BU owns.

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I wouldn't bet so fast that BU plans to sell the land. They are hemmed-in on Comm Ave, so this could give them a chance to expand their footprint, if they want. Time will tell.

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has some older dorms and buildings in general that are probably due for being gut-renovated to be more functional spaces (the entirety of Cummington Street, for example) and some that make a lot more sense to sell to consolidate the space (Danielsen Hall, some random brownstones scattered around east of Kenmore Square or on Carlton Street in Brookline.) In order to do that, they need a little slack capacity for the displaced students and programs.

Plus, I know there's been some grumblings about the university's lack of anything resembling decent/affordable graduate housing: perhaps this slack will allow some to be created.

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IMAGE(https://elmercatdotorg.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/wheelockparkinglot.jpg)
          ( their parking lot could be put to better use )

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I am sure BU will turn the entire campus into a shrine for John Silber ;)

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what will happen with tuition? As I recall, Wheelock charges $34K for tuition and BU charges $50K. Preschool teachers can't afford high tuitions like that.

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last two sentences of the press release:

For all current Wheelock College students, the net tuition (net of financial aid) will be the same as their cost would have been to attend Wheelock College. Beginning in 2018, admission of all new students will be through Boston University, using [Boston University] standards and processes.

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it will cost $50K to attend BU if you want to major in early education. The jobs out there don't pay much so this is untenable. Wheelock/soon to be BU has a good early ed dept but who will be able to attend?

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BU charges $50K

Tack another $20k on to that, and you'll be closer.

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referring to tuition not total cost of going there.

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I hope that as BU subsumes the "other" Wheelock schools that they find a way to keep the family theater intact as a distinct program. It is a unique community cultural resource, with a mission not addressed by BU's current theater program.

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