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The University of Redlands announced plans to absorb the Presidio Graduate School by next June, pending approval by its accreditor, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission.
Redlands’ School of Business and Society will establish and incorporate the Presidio Center for Sustainable Solutions, which will be based on Redlands’ Marin campus.
“This merger is the right long-term solution for Presidio, providing stable financial backing for our programs while improving our student experience,” said Suzanne Farver, chair of Presidio’s Board of Directors. “The additional resources that will be available for our students, the beautiful campus in Marin and our shared values around creating purposeful leaders makes Redlands the right partner for our school’s future.”
Presidio, which is currently based in San Francisco, was founded in 1973 as World College West and rebranded as a graduate school in 2009. It offers master’s degrees in management and public administration and has long had a focus on sustainability and environmental issues.
The new Presidio Center will retain this focus as well as the graduate school’s current faculty, according to a statement from Redlands.
“This opportunity, which has been at the forefront of crafting distinctive educational programs aimed at impacting business, the environment, and society, is a perfect match for us,” said Redlands president Krista Newkirk. “We are devoted to carrying on their visionary mission and bringing new opportunities to our community.”
Presidio is the second graduate institution that Redlands has absorbed in recent years, after acquiring the San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2019.
The move caps off a year of high-profile mergers, which have become an increasingly common strategy for struggling institutions on the brink of closure.
