Two Schools Consider Merger

Cincinnati (OH) Christian University and Kentucky Christian University, located in Grayson, are engaged in discussions that may result in the merger of the two schools.

On Jan. 17, 2017, CCU and KCU plan to begin a partnership agreement in which KCU will provide executive level management assistance to CCU, under the ongoing guidance of the CCU Board of Trustees. Formal approval of the management consultancy agreement is expected at the October meetings of the CCU and KCU boards of trustees.

“During this management period, the two schools plan to work together and with their respective constituencies and accrediting bodies to make immediate improvements while performing due diligence toward an intended full consolidation,” according to a release from the CCU trustees.

A separate announcement states, in part:

Kentucky Christian University (Grayson, KY) and Cincinnati Christian University are two schools that, though separated by only 100 miles, share much in common: similar heritages, constituencies, Christian missions, and student bodies. While the institutions have been healthy rivals for decades, that rivalry, always steeped in mutual admiration and respect, is now turning into unprecedented collaboration.

The boards of trustees of both schools have voted to collaborate deeply, beginning with a management consultancy agreement through which executive leadership at KCU will offer leadership assistance at CCU.  The preferred future for both schools is consolidation, creating the third largest Christian college among Independent Christian Church institutions of higher education.

Both KCU and CCU hold commitment to their respective regions and constituencies as a high priority.  Even while sharing leadership for programs that are remarkably complementary and moving toward merger, the universities anticipate maintaining both physical campuses and university identities.

A final decision on consolidation will likely be made in late 2017.

Additional information is available at www.KCU.EDU/ccupartnership. Future updates will also be available at that site.