The Boards of Trustees of Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University announced an agreement that will lead to the two universities become one comprehensive university centered on professional education.
The transaction is expected to be complete in 2017, pending regulatory and accrediting agency approvals, including the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Jefferson has a medical affiliation with Christiana Care, Delaware’s largest health care system.
“If anyone asks themselves, why would an almost 200-year-old health sciences university merge with a rapidly growing university that has excelled in design and innovative education… It’s because together we can reimagine a new kind of education for the jobs of the future,” said Stephen K. Klasko, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health. “It’s the start of a revolution in how students are taught, in how we provide greater value in more customized offerings, and in the recognition that design and healthcare are inextricably linked.” Klasko will be president and CEO of the combined university and Jefferson Health.
A market research study is underway to inform a cohesive brand strategy and implementation plan for the new organization.
When the integration is finalized, it will create Philadelphia’s fifth-largest university with enrollment of nearly 7,500 students (about equal numbers of undergraduate and graduate students with roughly half of total enrollment coming from each institution); campuses in East Falls and Center City, Philadelphia, as well as in Atlantic, Bucks and Montgomery Counties,.
