Gannon University has announced a partnership to form the region’s largest Catholic university system.
Gannon will partner with Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, to serve about 6,000 students in Pennsylvania, Ohio and in Ruskin, Florida, where Gannon has a campus. The two schools have a combined 1,300 employees.
The partnership furthers the goals of both schools as well as the goals of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, school leaders said. Gannon University has been exploring expansion opportunities. Ursuline College has been looking to partner with a larger institution; and the Ursuline Sisters wanted to find a partner who would preserve their legacy. The Ursuline Sisters founded Ursuline College in 1871 and has operated it as a ministry.
During the next two months, both schools will enter an information-gathering or “due diligence” phase that will lead to a definitive agreement that will be subject to regulatory and accreditor approvals. At the same time, integration teams will begin working to identify how the schools will best operate together. The process could take up to 18 months.