Merger News

We, the Board of Trustees of Mills College, care deeply for Mills and share the sense of loss that Mills College cannot survive in its current form. We decided to merge with Northeastern University with full knowledge that it was the best way to support our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community. We believe with great conviction that Mills College at Northeastern University and the Mills Institute are the best opportunities for continuing the Mills legacy.

We have every confidence in the leadership and dedication of President Elizabeth L. Hillman, and we support her leadership of Mills College at Northeastern University, which will continue the legacy of Mills and create the Mills Institute. She has the best interests of our entire community at heart and is bringing strategic thinking and innovation at a most difficult time.

With the same deep care the board brings to all of its fiduciary responsibilities, our deliberations to forge a new path for Mills were conducted methodically, with careful and diligent attention to detail, in consideration of the importance of Mills’ legacy, with an understanding of the higher education landscape, and with knowledge of Mills’ enrollment and operational challenges throughout decades. Those challenges and persistent liquidity difficulties compelled the College to declare a financial emergency in 2017 and to sell valuable campus assets since then. Even with those extreme measures, the College does not have a sustainable financial model.

Throughout the entire process of evaluating the College’s financial situation and selecting a path forward for Mills to sustain its educational purpose, the Board of Trustees was provided with extensive information, the opportunity to meet with key institutional leaders, and the ability to ask relevant questions and receive clarifying information. After an exhaustive review of options, and many years of dedicated efforts by multiple administrations to create a sustainable model, we chose to take the very significant step of merging with another institution.

We want Mills to continue to be the best it can be. We looked at many possibilities and several opportunities. We found in Northeastern University a partner that will value our Mills students, our Mills faculty, and our Mills campus. The merger with Northeastern University means students will continue to study with Mills faculty on the Mills campus and obtain degrees and access to broader opportunities for study and experiential learning, including career preparation. The merger preserves the jobs of Mills’ faculty and staff, many of whom have served Mills for their entire careers. The signing of the merger agreement with Northeastern allowed Mills to provide the faculty and Mills employees with their first cost-of-living increase in more than a decade. The merger will also bring more jobs, more investment, and deeper community involvement to Oakland, especially East Oakland, and the Bay Area at large.

We are dismayed that funds are being expended to fight this merger that could better serve existing students as they make their transitions to complete their degrees at Mills this spring or become students at the new Mills College at Northeastern University, on the Mills campus, in Oakland. We care deeply for Mills’ students and are disturbed by the efforts to disrupt and mislead them with misinformation during a time when they are navigating changes in the institution at which they chose to study. We also find the efforts to malign President Hillman through misinformation campaigns and personal attacks to be shameful.

While our decisions have been difficult, we as trustees know that we were adequately informed and had ample opportunity to voice our opinions. President Hillman and her team’s knowledge and transparency enabled us to make thoughtful, reasoned decisions.

Without this transformative opportunity, the future of our treasured institution was in jeopardy. Now, with renewed confidence and excitement for the opportunities before us, we will expand our reach and amplify the impact of Mills globally. We ask the Mills community to embrace this necessary change with openness and optimism.

Dear Community Members,

I’m excited to announce the launch of a search for the inaugural Executive Director of the Mills Institute. The Mills Institute will be a cornerstone to sustaining the legacy of Mills College as well as an accelerator of antiracism and equity efforts across the Northeastern University global network. The Executive Director will serve as the executive and educational head of the Mills Institute and will report to me in my role as president of Mills College at Northeastern University.

Katie Sanborn ’83, chair of the Board of Trustees of Mills College, will lead a search committee composed of Mills and Northeastern representatives. Storbeck Search, a nationally recognized executive leadership search firm, will support the search, and will begin by interviewing key stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, and alums, to learn more about Mills College and the potential priorities of the Institute. They will solicit feedback from the broader campus community through a short survey, which you can find here. The search committee seeks to complete its work by this summer, and includes:

• Adrienne Foster '74, Mills College trustee
• James Hackney, Dean of the School of Law, Co-head of the Presidential D&I Council, Northeastern University
• Patricia L. Hardaway, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Mills College
• Cliff Lee, Associate Professor of Education and director of Mills' oldest bridge program, the Summer Academic Workshop (SAW), Mills College
• Ajuan Mance, Professor of Ethnic Studies and English, Dean of Digital Learning and Innovation, Certificate for the Advancement of Digital Learning, Metz Chair for Excellence and Creativity in Teaching, Mills College
• Karen May '86, Mills College trustee
• Marilyn Minus, Professor and Chair, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University
• Alicia Sasser Modestino, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Economics; Research Director, Dukakis Center, Northeastern University
• Marilyn Schuster '65, Mills College trustee and Chair, Academic and Student Experience Committee

The Mills Institute will strive to meet changing educational needs in higher education, with a specific commitment to gender and racial justice and the advancement of women, gender nonbinary individuals, and communities of color. Its programs and partnerships will support transformative teaching and learning, research, and career development for women, gender nonbinary individuals, and historically marginalized racial and ethnic communities, especially during periods of educational and professional transition. Learn more about the Mills Institute here, and stay tuned for updates as we develop a profile for the leader who will build this cornerstone of Mills College at Northeastern University.

All best,
Beth

Elizabeth L. Hillman
President, Mills College

Dear Mills Community Members,

I write to you today as a Mills alumna first and Chair of the Board of Trustees second. Last week, the board made the historic decision to merge with Northeastern University. While many of you supported this decision, I know that it can be unsettling to think of changes to our beloved Mills. As we look forward to Convocation and Reunion this week, I want to share some thoughts to prepare to come together as one community.

As Mills College at Northeastern University, we will be able to sustain Mills’ mission, preserve its legacy, more robustly serve our own people—students, faculty, staff, and alumnae—as well as remain a good neighbor and critical anchor in our local community and the East Bay. The merger means our commitment to social justice, gender equity, and the cultivation of women’s leadership will expand and evolve.

Together, we are leading a fundamental change in how education is considered and delivered, and we can be a model for similar partnerships between institutions that share values. A number of institutions and groups reached out to the College after our announcement in March, and the Board of Trustees considered their ideas and proposals carefully. Throughout these discussions, Northeastern rose to the top. We found a shared passion for expanding access to education, for reaching under-resourced students, for providing pathways to fulfilling lives and lifelong learning, and for sustaining Mills’ legacy not only through curriculum and programming but also through a robust Mills Institute, for which Northeastern has committed significant seed funding.

As many of you know, alumnae make up approximately 65 percent of the members of the Board of Trustees. We serve with members of the community at large who have also committed themselves to Mills. Together, we have worked with the College and President Hillman since her arrival on initiatives and pathways to sustain the Mills mission. Faculty and staff have been instrumental working through and for Mills during these challenging financial times. We have studied opportunities and possibilities, and we have scrutinized the College’s finances throughout. We have faith in the College’s leadership, but we study, debate, and verify. The board has made its decisions based on facts.

I am grateful to many of you who have stood up in support of the board’s decisions and who see the great potential for carrying forward and expanding the Mills mission through the merger with Northeastern. Thank you for asking intelligent, thoughtful, and candid questions and making time to process and analyze the information. That is the Mills way.

As many of you are also aware, some in the alumnae community, including the leadership of the AAMC, oppose this merger despite its many benefits. While I respect individuals’ right to dissent and disagree, I have been dismayed by some of the misinformation that has been widely circulated both publicly and privately. At Mills, we learned to think critically but not to distort facts. Let me be clear: Mills has experienced a systemic financial imbalance for decades. The current dynamic in higher education has pushed Mills to a point of unsustainability. I want to assure you that all trustees have always had access to the pertinent financials, enrollment data, and other information that we need to perform our fiduciary duties. Prior to our vote, we were given and had ample time to review and discuss the final draft of the definitive agreement, which was then signed by President Hillman with the board’s authorization. As with all mergers, implementation details will continue to be worked through over the next several months as transition teams with Mills and Northeastern representatives prepare for operational integration. I and the board will continue to oversee the merger preparation process and will review and discuss any significant changes in current expectations or any significant action.

Our agreement provides that the Mills name will remain for generations to come. It is the people who make Mills the special institution that it is, so I invite you to celebrate that by connecting with your colleagues, fellow alumnae, and friends this week and weekend. The work to reunite the community of Mills begins now.

I look forward to seeing many of you this week. Together we can unite in our commitment to each other—and our continuing legacy.

Sincerely,

Katie

Kathleen Sanborn ’83
Chair, Board of Trustees
Mills College

Dear Mills Community Members,

Today, the Mills College Board of Trustees approved the merger of Mills College with Northeastern University, ensuring that the educational mission of Mills and its commitment to social justice, gender equity, and cultivating women’s leadership will live on. The merger is expected to take effect on or about July 1, 2022, subject to regulatory and other approvals. When completed, Mills will become Mills College at Northeastern University, and our campus will welcome all genders.

The merger with Northeastern offers concrete and meaningful opportunities for our students, faculty, staff, and alumnae—opportunities that Mills could not offer on its own. Aligning with Northeastern means that Mills will remain a vibrant center of learning with deep connections to the broader Oakland community.

At the same time, Mills will be setting off on a new path, different from what we have known. The moment invites us to reunite as one Mills community and, working alongside our Northeastern colleagues, create a future that honors the legacy of Mills and brings vital elements of a Mills education to new audiences here and throughout Northeastern’s global network of campuses. Now is the time to explore and pursue opportunities, pushing open doors that we could not open on our own.

Most immediately, however, I know that many of you have questions about what this change means for you. In the months ahead, transition teams will work out the many details that need to be addressed and will provide regular updates to the Mills community. The transition process at Mills will be led by Renée Jadushlever, vice president for strategic communications and operations.

The following are confirmed agreements at this early point in the merger process, assuming the merger happens on or about July 1, 2022:

• Students: Students who complete their studies before June 30, 2022, will graduate with a degree from Mills College. Students who complete their studies after June 30, 2022, will graduate with a degree from Mills College at Northeastern University. Mills and Northeastern will provide transition counseling and financial support to help each student evaluate options for continuing, and funding, their degree work. That support will enable currently enrolled students to complete their degrees without increases in anticipated costs.
• Faculty: Northeastern will honor and abide by the terms of tenure of Mills faculty who hold a tenured position or a continuous contract and will offer tenure-track faculty and adjunct faculty opportunities for employment.
• Staff: Staff who are employees of Mills on July 1, 2022, will become employees of Northeastern. Mills Employee Services will provide details in the coming weeks regarding employee salary increases and a reinstatement of the employer match of the Mills 403(b) retirement program.
• Alumnae: Northeastern will support Mills alumnae to engage with their alma mater through reunions and campus events. Northeastern will also continue to support the Reinhardt Alumnae House. Alumnae of Mills will be eligible for benefits available to Northeastern graduates, including a 25 percent tuition discount on degree programs in the Northeastern campus network.
• Community: Northeastern will oversee the creation of formal procurement policies at the Mills campus to support local, women-, and minority-owned businesses. Mills College at Northeastern University will continue to foster mutually beneficial relationships with communities and institutions around the Mills campus, including with the City of Oakland.

A key next step in the transition process is for Mills and Northeastern faculty and staff to work jointly to develop the undergraduate and graduate degree programs that Northeastern will offer on the Oakland campus through Mills College at Northeastern University and otherwise. Degree programs will leverage the strengths of both Mills and Northeastern and will be relevant to both students and the employer community.

Also, faculty and staff from both Mills and Northeastern will collaborate to further develop a Mills Institute to carry on the Mills legacy of advancing women’s leadership and empowering BIPOC and first-generation students. Northeastern has committed seed money to launch and fund the Institute.

Until the merger is completed, Mills will continue to operate as an accredited degree-granting institution and be led by the current administration. Mills and Northeastern will also work together to address Mills’ operating expenses and financial needs through the completion of the merger.

I want to thank every member of the Mills community for your engagement and your passionate support for Mills. The last 18 months have tested us on multiple levels. It is our singular dedication to the mission and values of Mills College that brings us to where we stand today and that will provide the strength and vision to help us shape tomorrow.

All best,
Beth

Elizabeth L. Hillman
President, Mills College