Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University

Dear Seattle University Community,

I am delighted to share that Seattle University has signed an agreement with Cornish College of the Arts that provides for the establishment of Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. This binding agreement, which received enthusiastic approval from the boards of both institutions, broadly outlines the structure of the planned transaction, with an anticipated closing date of May 31, 2025.

Under the agreement, and subject to regulatory approvals, Cornish will contribute and transfer to Seattle University substantially all its assets, including its facilities, real estate holdings, name and intellectual property. SU will also assume certain Cornish liabilities. This type of transaction, involving two nonprofits, is referred to as an asset contribution. In this instance, it entrusts Seattle University with Cornish’s long legacy of excellence and innovation in arts education. We welcome this responsibility as a generational opportunity to elevate and enhance the arts and arts education at SU for students and the broader community we, and Cornish, have served for more than 100 years.

With this transaction, we will expand arts education within our Jesuit approach to educating the whole person in a values-based and inclusively excellent manner. This will foster interdisciplinary learning across arts, business and STEM, and increase access to more creative and performance spaces.

The asset contribution will occur in connection with a closure and dissolution of Cornish after its current academic term. In connection with the asset contribution, the institutions also have executed Teach-Out Agreements that will permit all current Cornish students the opportunity to complete their degrees through SU. Students who participate in the teach-out arrangements at SU will have access to the support, services and wide array of student life activities and programming available to all Seattle University students.

Upon consummation of the agreement, we will launch and operate the new Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University at the South Lake Union campus. We are in the process of reviewing the hiring of faculty and staff from Cornish and making those decisions prior to closing of the transaction to help facilitate a smooth transition to Seattle University for current and incoming Cornish students.

As part of the transition process, we are moving deliberately and expeditiously to ramp up the work of our integration teams, prioritizing what is most important between now and the closing of the transaction. Several integration teams have already been engaging with their counterparts at Cornish to ensure a seamless transition.

As additional information becomes available and decisions are made, we will continue to share more details. We also launched a transition web page today that includes frequently asked questions and other information.

I am grateful to all who have been and will be involved in bringing about this transformative opportunity and look forward to sharing more as the transition moves forward.

Respectfully,

Eduardo M. Peñalver
President