Mills College to Merge With Northeastern University
- Mills College in Oakland, California will merge with Northeastern University.
- The women’s college faced financial difficulties and was at risk of closing.
- Starting in July 2022, the college will become Mills College at Northeastern University.
- The campus will also become gender inclusive starting in July.
The board of trustees of Mills College in Oakland approved a merger with Northeastern University on Tuesday.
Starting July 1, 2022, the 169-year-old women’s university will become a gender-inclusive campus called Mills College at Northeastern University,Mills College president Elizabeth L. Hillman announced.
The vote finalizing the merger ends a four-month saga that saw Viji Nakka-Cammauf, a member of Mill’s board of trustees and president of the Mills Alumnae Association, sue the administration to halt the merger until Mills released financial information justifying the merger.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stephen Pulido issued a restraining order in August preventing merger activities, though conversations between the two institutions were allowed to proceed. The order was lifted on Monday, paving the way for Tuesday’s vote by the Mills board of trustees.
Plans for the merger were announced in June. Based in Boston, Northeastern has steadily been expanding its footprint for the past decade. Its roster of campuses includes Burlington, Charlotte, London, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Under the terms of the merger, students who complete their studies before June 30, 2022, will graduate with a degree from Mills College. Students who complete their studies after June 30, 2022, will graduate with a degree from Mills College at Northeastern University. The move also will create the Mills Institute “to carry on the Mills legacy of advancing women’s leadership and empowering BIPOC and first-generation students.”
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