Newton's Mount Ida In Talks With UMass: Governor

NEWTON, MA — The University of Massachusetts, Boston and Mount Ida College are in talks about a possible merger or acquisition, according to multiple reports.

Officials from Mount Ida and the UMass President's office did not respond to Patch's requests for comment in time for publication but we'll update when they do.

Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters Thursday he spoke recently with UMass President Marty Meehan who confirmed conversations with Mount Ida were ongoing, but told reporters he did not know further details.

The discussion comes just after a potential merger between Mount Ida and Lasell College fell through.

• Two Newton Colleges Consider Merger
• No Merger For Two Newton Colleges After Pushback

Mount Ida, which has 1,555 undergraduate and graduate students, was founded in 1899 as a liberal arts college. Most of its students live on the 72-acre campus, led by Barry Brown, the former acting president and provost of Suffolk University in Boston. It has some 1,555 undergraduates and 30 graduate students, according to the school's website.

The UMass system has 74,500 students on five campuses across the state: Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and the medical school in Worcester. UMass Boston's campus is situated in South Boston near the JFK Library. They have a student body of 16,415, according to its website.

The UMass Boston campus is searching for a new chancellor and reportedly dealing with budget issues on campus.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Johnny Habell