Arts students, your walk to class might be getting a little longer. Seattle University announced Dec. 5 that the school has signed a letter of intent to merge with Cornish College of the Arts, an arts conservatory based in South Lake Union.

The key word here is “intent,” as the agreement is not yet binding. The two schools will work together to assess the details of a potential partnership, with a decision targeted for March 2025. The current plan is for Cornish to become the Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University.

While the path forward after a binding agreement is signed is unclear, Emily Parkhurst, interim president of Cornish, wrote in an email to The Spectator that students at both schools might not have to wait long to feel the effects of the merger.

“Our hope is that students will begin to benefit from this combination as soon as this coming fall,” Parkhurst wrote.

Prior to the announcement of the letter of intent, the arts curriculum at Seattle U had been undergoing change as part of the Reigniting Our Strategic Directions effort. In the fall, the art, studio art and art history majors were consolidated to form the new art and visual culture studies major. This major was designed to support the challenge of low enrollment in the previous majors.

One program at Seattle U has a curriculum that was developed specifically for the university. The design major has a focus on social engagement and visual communication that serves communities. Students in the design cohort spend two years learning technical skills and two years on conceptual design informed by Seattle U’s Jesuit values and mission.

Design is one of the largest majors in the Seattle U arts departments, with roughly 60 undergraduate students across all years. All design students cover print and media-based graphic design, web design and UI/UX design within a single major.

Professor Naomi Kasumi has been at Seattle U since 2003, when she started as the director of the digital design program. Her role has changed as the program developed, with design becoming a major in 2012, but she has worked to create a unique program that gives students an education they might not find at other institutions.

“[There are] certain things I really want to save because that’s the beauty of Seattle University’s Design program,” Kasumi said. “That’s something I’m trying to communicate with [Cornish].”

Kasumi and other Seattle U faculty will be meeting with faculty from Cornish over the coming months to develop a better understanding of how the different programs and facilities can integrate with one another.

Design at Cornish is different from design at Seattle U. After their first year, students choose to get a degree in design, game art, illustration, animation or UI/UX design. Cornish’s website also lists 17 current members of the design department, which includes instructors and professors. On the other hand, Seattle U has one tenured and one full-time faculty in its design program.

Kasumi learned about the merger in a Dec. 5 Zoom meeting with faculty and university administration, two hours before the Seattle Times released an article detailing the plans to merge.

“I was watching all the other faculty members’ faces on Zoom and they were thinking, what are you talking about? We didn’t know about this until now. And then, do we have the money to buy them?’” Kasumi said.

Specifics of the transition period are unknown, but Provost Shane Martin and Senior Vice Provost Tamara Herdener shared some details in an email with The Spectator.

“For the Cornish students, this will include academic advising tailored to their unique needs, integration programs to foster community, access to mental health and wellness resources to support their overall well-being, among many other services and programs. For Cornish faculty, we are developing resources such as professional development opportunities, forums for open dialogue, and individualized support to ensure a seamless transition into the Seattle University community,” Martin and Herdener wrote to the Spectator.

Martin and Herdener also shared that transparency in the merger process will be informed by the Strategic Directions curriculum revision process. While no further details were shared about transparency through the merger, the Strategic Directions process has involved working groups with faculty, staff and students as well as communication with groups like the faculty elected body Academic Assembly and Staff Council.

There are a number of challenges ahead when it comes to integrating Cornish into Seattle U. First, it is unknown how Seattle U’s College of Arts and Sciences will change when the new Cornish College of the Arts is created at Seattle U. This is not the only new college coming to Seattle U, with the university’s announcement in the fall of funding for a new College of Health Sciences.

Additionally, Cornish faculty are protected by a collective bargaining agreement as part of OPEIU Local 8. On the other hand, Seattle U faculty are not unionized, after the legal battle for non-tenure track faculty unionization ended in 2018. Both full-time and part-time faculty can be elected to the university’s Academic Assembly, which serves as the official voice of the faculty on all matters related to university governance.

The Cornish collective bargaining agreement (CBA) contains a successor clause that states that, in the event of a merger, the successor firm would be bound by the collective bargaining agreement. It is unclear if any Seattle U faculty would be able to join the union in the event of a merger. The Cornish CBA is in effect until Aug. 31, 2025.

Another challenge for the merger would be integrating Cornish’s semester system into Seattle U’s quarter system. The debate over the merits of either system has sizzled for years at Seattle U, dividing faculty and students alike. While Seattle U’s law school is on a semester system, it is completely separate from undergraduate education. Integrating Cornish’s undergraduate classes into Seattle U’s would require both to have the same academic term length.

Cornish’s location on South Lake Union would likely require some students to travel between Cornish facilities and the current Seattle U campus.

Despite the bevy of unknowns, many Redhawk professors see positives in the new facilities, expanding knowledge and growth of students of Cornish joining Seattle U. Fr. Trung Pham, an associate professor and the chair of art and visual culture studies, looks forward to the potential for a larger arts footprint.

“More space, more students, more opportunities,” Pham said. “We don’t have a lot of space for art here, so merging with [Cornish] will solidify the space.”

If Cornish joins Seattle U, the university would have three total performance spaces for students. Cornish students would gain access to Seattle U’s pool and athletic facilities as well as academic resources like the Lemieux Library and Learning Commons.

The faculty of Cornish would also bring new expertise to Seattle U programs like film and media, according to Department Chair and Professor Kirsten Moana Thompson.

“I’m particularly excited about the fact that there are faculty with animation and production expertise at Cornish,” Thompson said.

The film and media department has also considered developing a Master of Fine Arts program at Seattle U, which Thompson speculated would benefit from Cornish faculty and facilities.

Kasumi and Thompson emphasized that improving students’ opportunities for education and professional development is one of the most important aspects of merging with Cornish.

“This is not for me or teachers, but this is for students. If this is a great change for students, then we… have to embrace the change to make the best out of students’ learning,” Kasumi said.

In recent years, small arts institutions have struggled with low enrollment. The Vermont College of Fine Arts became a subsidiary of the California Institute of the Arts in April 2024 after financial challenges caused declines in enrollment.

“Art schools are closing. So merging would help. We’ve seen it across the nation,” Pham said.

Enrollment at Cornish has also been declining, hitting 502 in the fall of 2023. The school listed Kerry Hall, a Capitol Hill class building, for sale in May 2024 and sold it to Seattle Theatre Group in November 2024. This merger would be a way for Cornish to continue educating students while dealing with these challenges.

“Cornish will retain its name and its legacy as an institution. A legacy is not one single building. Our legacy is the thousands of students, teachers and staff who have made this such a special place. It’s the art that has been created here and created by our alumni. It’s the dedication to Nelly [sic] Cornish’s belief in education through exposure to all the arts. Through this partnership with Seattle University, that legacy will continue for generations to come,” Parkhurst wrote to The Spectator.

There is hard work ahead for Seattle U. Whether the deal falls through or the storm clouds of merger complications part to reveal a brighter future for Seattle U is anyone’s guess. But the past year has shown a significant commitment to the arts by Seattle U. A new art museum and now possibly a new college shows that big moves are being made to cement Seattle U as a leader in arts education.