Webinar December 3, 2025 | 1:00 PM (Eastern) Presented by Small College America with support from Edu Alliance and the American Association of University Administrators
We Need Your Questions: To make this conversation meaningful, we need your perspective. We’re asking higher education leaders to take five minutes to complete a short, confidential survey before the event. WEBINAR SURVEY LINK
By Dean Hoke, October 6, 2025: Mergers and closures are not new to higher education. In the 1970s alone, nearly 225 institutions either closed or merged—roughly 7% of all degree-granting institutions at the time. I experienced this personally when my alma mater permanently closed in 2020. Like thousands of alumni, I grieved the loss of a place that had shaped my life. But I also understood something many did not: this wasn’t an isolated tragedy—it was part of a larger historical cycle of growth, contraction, and reinvention.
In the early 1990s, I was directly involved as President of a public television station that merged with a local public radio station. The process was emotional and complex, requiring open communication, transparency, and leadership from every level. As of today, both of these stations exist within one organization and are doing well. Those lessons stayed with me throughout my career in higher education.
During my tenure as President/CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA), it became evident that higher education was entering a new era of financial strain and demographic pressure. Colleges were being forced to explore collaboration and consolidation not as strategic options—but as survival imperatives.
At the AAUA national conference, we hosted two candid conversations about this reality:
- A four-hour off-the-record roundtable session titled “Mergers and Acquisitions: Navigating Higher Ed’s Complex Landscape,” which included two leading higher education attorneys, the head of an acquisition firm specializing in higher education, and the Provost of a university that was being merged.
- A public session featuring Dr. Chet Haskell (Antioch University) and Dr. Wendy Heckler (Otterbein University), who shared their groundbreaking work on the Coalition for the Common Good.
Why This Webinar Matters
According to Inside Higher Education’s 2025 Survey of College and University Presidents, one in three presidents at private nonprofit institutions report that their boards and senior leadership teams have had serious discussions about merging or consolidating. Even more telling:
- 17% believe a merger or acquisition involving their institution is somewhat or very likely in the next five years.
- 33% expect they may acquire another institution during that same period.
These numbers underscore a critical truth: every institution should be preparing for the possibility of structural change—even those that appear stable today.
That’s why this conversation matters now. It’s not about predicting which colleges will survive. It’s about helping leaders understand how to respond when the discussion moves from theoretical to real—when preservation of mission and identity must be balanced with financial reality.
The Upcoming Webinar
Against this backdrop, Small College America, with the support of Edu Alliance and AAUA, will host a live 90-minute webinar:
“Navigating Higher Education’s Existential Challenges: From Partnerships and Mergers to Reinvention” Tuesday, December 3, 2025 | 1:00 PM Eastern
This will not be another PowerPoint presentation filled with charts and trends. Instead, a panel of leaders who have lived through mergers, partnerships, and reinvention will share what they learned from the inside.
Panelists include:
- Dr. Chet Haskell, Former Provost, Antioch University, and key architect of the Coalition for the Common Good
- Dr. Barry Ryan, Retired President, Woodbury University, who recently led his institution through a merger with University of Redlands
- AJ Prager, Managing Director at Hilltop Securities, specializing in Higher Education Mergers & Acquisitions and Strategic Partnerships
- Higher education legal expert to be announced
Dean Hoke and Kent Barnds, co-hosts of Small College America, will moderate the conversation. Our focus is on the human side of institutional transformation—the conversations that happen behind closed doors, the decisions that test leadership resolve, and the strategies that allow communities to emerge stronger.
Registration for this free webinar will begin on November 3rd.
Who Should Attend
This webinar is designed for:
- Presidents, provosts, and trustees facing questions of sustainability or succession.
- CFOs and senior administrators managing budget pressures or enrollment cliffs.
- Board members and advisors preparing for strategic decision-making.
If you’ve heard phrases like “structural deficit,” “strategic alternatives,” or “path to viability” in your recent meetings, this discussion is for you.
Why We Need Your Voice
To make this conversation meaningful, we need your perspective. We’re asking higher education leaders to take five minutes to complete a short, confidential survey before the event. Your input will directly shape the webinar by:
- Identifying the most urgent questions institutions are facing.
- Prioritizing real-world concerns rather than theoretical discussions.
- Allowing panelists to address the issues keeping leaders awake at night.
This is your opportunity to ensure that the session reflects the realities of your campus—not assumptions from the outside. Your identity will remain anonymous; our goal is to understand the questions, not who’s asking them.
Survey closes November 29 to allow time for integration into the program.
Take the survey today: WEBINAR SURVEY LINK
