Baptist Seminary considers merger with Chowan. Maybe.
A recent article from the Associated Baptist Press indicates that Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is considering a merger with Chowan University, a four-year, private Baptist university in Murfreesboro, North Carolina — an arrangement that could address BTSR’s reported $7 million debt.
From the ABP article:
Cash-strapped Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is considering a merger with Chowan University, a 162-year-old North Carolina Baptist school 99 miles south of the seminary’s Richmond, Va., campus, in hopes of solving lingering financial problems made worse by a bad economy.
Chris White, president of Chowan University, said a subcommittee of Chowan’s board of trustees is “doing due diligence” investigating the possibility of a merger with BTSR, which he said is in “serious financial difficulty.”
BTSR’s trustees meet March 21-22, a date when White anticipates either a formal request to or a decision from BTSR not to request merger. Chowan’s next regularly scheduled board meeting is April 7. White said a decision can be made that day because due diligence will be completed.
The day after the ABP article was published, BTSR president took to his blog to address the issue where he neither confirmed nor denied a possible merger with Chowan specifically, stating that it was just too soon to talk about specifics.
Let me begin by saying what I suspect most people already know: reporters are human and not without their own faults. Reporters work hard to provide balanced and fair news; sometimes they succeed, sometimes they do not. My personal view is the ABP story noted above is incomplete and premature.
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In October 2010 BTSR trustees authorized a committee to study the seminary’s business plan and come back with a recommendation to secure the next twenty years of the seminary’s life.
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On February 1, 2011 the trustee committee decided to explore one particular option further, a potential merger with a university. A merger could prove attractive to BTSR for a number of reasons: providing the seminary with significant resources in development and student recruitment and undergirding the seminary’s financial future with the strength of a university — while safeguarding a significant measure of autonomy for the seminary. A merger could also provide a university with rigorous and well respected graduate programs and significantly expand the university’s potential for growth, especially in the Richmond area.
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As you will note, I am not mentioning the name of a university. In my opinion, it is premature to do that at this point in the conversation. Frankly, we have shared conversations with four universities to date about potential strategic partnerships or mergers. In addition to university options, we are also examining other potential adjustments to our business plan that would keep BTSR a free-standing seminary.
So, no final decisions yet. But it looks like BTSR is hoping to merge with someone at somepoint , which is good news for them and could potentially mean that whatever university makes the cut ends up with a satellite campus here in Richmond… or at least a stronger connection to our city. According to the ABP story, Chowan president Chris White would “‘love to have a foothold’ in Virginia, particularly the metro area of Richmond.”
Nope, this is old now. Pres. White at Chowan spoke too soon. I doubt most NRN are actually reading all of the details above. As a BTSR grad, I watched the articles come through ABPNews a couple of weeks ago. BTSR, like many institutions and organizations, is considering options. Chowan is off the table now. Either way, BTSR would physically remain here even if a partner school absorbed them.
Chowan is off the table at least for the time being. The concern in the neighborhood should not be whether BTSR “physically remains” but what other uses whoever takes over/merges with the seminary has in mind for the property.
Don, do you know what Union is planning with the land where they are currently destroying the old dorms?
I don’t know that Union has any set plans — their strategic plan envisions either an income producing/missional use of the property or selling it.
Now that BTSR has announced it is selling the buildings, I presume J. Sarge will buy the property.
I wouldn’t presume anything. J. Sarge is renting the Presby buildings on that block only until the downtown campus is renovated, including renting parking spaces from the partners who own the mansion and the building where the health club is. The understanding was that relationship wasn’t permanent. So I’m not certain J. Sarge would want the space and if they did we’d have concerns about parking and traffic. It would be interesting to know what BTSR’s banks think they will get for the property.