Villanova University’s merger with Rosemont College includes a $40 million investment by Villanova, writes Susan Snyder and Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The two Catholic universities agreed in March to merge by 2028.
Rosemont College will merge into the larger Villanova University beginning in 2027.
Students now enrolled will have until June 2028 to earn their Rosemont degrees, and the college will remain independent until then. Its extracurricular activities will stay in place., except for varsity sports, which will stop after the next academic year.
Villanova put up $5 million in December “to maintain exclusivity” while negotiating a merger agreement and another $10 million after the agreement was signed.
Villanova also placed $5 million in escrow to cover Rosemont’s April operating costs, with additional payments of $8 million set for June 2026 and $12 million in June 2027.
Rosemont’s more than century-old campus of neo-Gothic architecture will become Villanova University, Rosemont Campus, in 2028. It is less than a mile from Villanova’s campus and has 774 students currently enrolled.
Rosemont has had operating losses five years in a row through June 2023 and has borrowed from its $16 million restricted endowment since 2020 to meet operating expenses.
Find out about Rosemont’s financial struggles through the years in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
