Boston College Agrees To Merge With Pine Manor College

CHESTNUT HILL, MA — Boston College and Pine Manor College are joining forces, the schools announced Wednesday after signing a memorandum of understanding.

Students currently enrolled in Pine Manor College and those who planned to start in the fall will get to finish their studies for the next two years, and then the school will become the "Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College." What exactly that will look like, is still developing, said school officials.

The memorandum between the schools is the latest in a bevvy of small liberal arts colleges linking up with larger, wealthier schools. For the past several years, many small liberal arts colleges — including schools such as Newbury, which folded, and Mount Ida, which was acquired by UMass — have been under financial stress. Pine Manor College had been working hard to turn its fragile financial situation around for the past five years — and then the coronavirus pandemic hit, throwing the school's future into question as well.

"This is good news," Pine Manor College President Thomas O'Reilly told Patch. He praised conversations that took place between him and the Boston College president about an educational partnership between the two schools as being focused on students and mission to "advance and accelerate" opportunities for the traditionally underserved and underrepresented students that Pine Manor serves.

The agreement establishes the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, endowed with $50 million from Boston College, which will fund outreach and academic support programs for underserved, low-income students.

Boston College will assume responsibility for Pine Manor College along with its assets and liabilities, once the deal is approved by accreditors and several state agencies.

"I would consider this a transformation. This is Pine Manor Version 2. This creates a whole new avenue to have bigger and more impact on more students," he said, shying away from the term "deal."

Programs at Boston College that are actively supporting low-income students — including Learning to Learn, Options through Education, and the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center — will be placed under the umbrella of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success.

The Institute will also link students to such Boston College campus programs as the Monserrat Coalition, the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, Appalachia Volunteers, and 4Boston.

What it means for students:

Pine Manor College students currently enrolled will be able to stay at the school in a "teach out" period for up to two years working on their Associate of Arts or Bachelor of Arts degree programs in classes taught by Pine Manor College faculty on the Pine Manor College campus.

Boston College will subsidize Pine Manor College’s cost of operations during that two-year period.

Then Pine Manor College students who "gain admission" to Boston College’s Woods College of Advancing Studies can finish their Bachelor of Arts degree at Boston College. All Pine Manor College students will continue to receive the financial aid necessary to meet their cost of attendance, according to a release.

What about faculty and staff?

Any Pine Manor College staff who aren't directly involved with the function of the college can apply for positions at Boston College or take advantage of outplacement assistance and severance, according to the understanding.

It's not clear what will happen to O'Reilly, though he told Patch he was open to the possibility of staying on, but noted it's too early to tell.

The release said Pine Manor College alumnae play a role in keeping the college's history and contributions alive.

"It’s almost like a blessing in disguise," Pine Manor Alumn Lise Chin Leist told Patch. "This preserves the mission. It may not look like what we want it to look like all around, but it’s a beautiful position to be in when someone steps up and asks can I help you. Let’s open the opportunity, find another way. We have to do this to preserve our future."

Leist who sits on the school's board of trustees said there have been some tense conversations during the past several months.

She said she is optimistic about the form Pine Manor will take next. Leist, who describes herself as a woman of color, graduated from the college in 1973, when it was still a women's college. She said the transition from women-only to coed didn't bother her because the mission stayed the same.

"These two schools have been neighboring institutions for more than a century, and each recognizes the vital importance of educating the whole person and building a more just and humane society,” Boston College President William Leahy said in a statement. “Pine Manor College’s focus on helping underrepresented and underserved students obtain college degrees clearly fits with Boston College’s origins and continued commitment to recruiting and graduating talented students of various backgrounds and interests who face challenges in their pursuit of higher education. This agreement reflects the changing realities in American higher education, and offers possibilities and opportunities for Pine Manor College, Boston College and our world."

RELATED: Pine Manor College In Chestnut Hill Struggles Amid Coronavirus

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, opinion piece.