Seattle University to Ax Cornish Staff in Merger

Seattle University and Cornish College of the Arts are one step closer to what is essentially an acquisition after reaching a formal agreement for Seattle to absorb the arts school, officials announced Tuesday.

As part of the arrangement, all 127 Cornish College of the Arts employees (40 full-time faculty and 87 staff members) are expected to be laid off, The Seattle Times reported. However, Seattle University officials told the newspaper that SU intends to hire some Cornish faculty and staff. 

Seattle University officials noted that hiring decisions will be made in the coming weeks and that SU will negotiate severance packages with faculty and staff members who lose their jobs.

The two institutions announced late last year that they were exploring a merger. The deal is expected to close at the end of May, when Cornish will cease operations as a freestanding institution, though the name will live on as Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University.

Cornish students are expected to be able to transfer into the newly combined institution.

“Following regulatory approval and closing of the transaction, students enrolled at Cornish College of the Arts may elect to continue their program at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. Our admissions teams are working together to make this transition process as smooth as possible,” reads part of a frequently asked questions page on the SU website.