July 1, 2025
ERIE, Pa. and PEPPER PIKE, Ohio – The merger of Gannon University and Ursuline College reached a significant milestone this past weekend with the Higher Learning Commission’s approval of Change of Control, a crucial step toward creating the largest Catholic system of higher education along Lake Erie.
The approval allowed Gannon University – effective Monday, June 30 – to replace the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland as the sole member of Ursuline College Corporation, assuming a critical leadership role for the 1,000-student institution. The Commission will maintain Ursuline’s accreditation through the full merger in December 2026, when Ursuline will share Gannon’s Middle States accreditation.
While the institutions remain separate entities, Gannon has assumed ownership and financial oversight of Ursuline College. The Catholic Diocese of Erie has replaced the Ursuline Sisters as Ursuline’s sponsor, and a new nine-member transitional board will oversee the College until December 2026. Teri Herrmann Corletzi, the current chair of the Ursuline College Board, will continue chairing this transitional board.
“We – Gannon and Ursuline, together – have been working for several months to get to this point,” Gannon President Walter Iwanenko Jr. said. “This is a significant waypoint on our mutual journey, but we are a long way from done. Historically, this marks an end as well as a beginning. We are building on the foundation laid by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland. I have come to know many of the Ursuline Sisters over the past year, and I am grateful for their friendship and support.”
Sister Laura Bregar, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, praised the partnership and the transition process.
“The Ursuline Sisters, Ursuline College and Gannon University have chosen a graced journey, believing this path will lead to flourishing for Catholic education in Pepper Pike,” she said. “With courage, wisdom, knowledge and commitment, we step boldly into tomorrow united in faith.”
Ursuline College President David King added: “Our collective strengths will make us stronger together. The path forward will always focus on our greatest strength — our students — whose futures and academic journeys will flourish under our shared Catholic values and educational mission.”
For Ursuline students, there will be few immediate changes in the year ahead. Tuition, fees and scholarships will continue to be awarded as Ursuline has done. Academic programs and athletic teams also will not be changing. Change of Control opens up access to Gannon’s domestic and international Alternative Break Service Trips.
Both institutions will begin implementing shared services while maintaining their separate identities until the full merger is completed. Employees at both schools will experience changes as the institutions scale appropriately through shared services agreements, merged processes, and consolidated vendor contracts in the coming months. Ursuline College will continue operating under its current name through the full merger, when it becomes the Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University.
Integration teams comprising individuals from both schools have worked since October 2024 to identify efficiencies and opportunities. Their recommendations continue to guide actions leading toward the merger. The goal of the merger is to create a system of Catholic higher education that leverages the geographic distribution and the institutions’ respective strengths – Ursuline College in suburban Cleveland and Gannon’s campuses in Erie, Pa., and Ruskin, Fla. Once combined, the new institution will enroll about 5,500 students and employ more than 1,000 faculty and staff.
“Higher education is in a transformational moment filled with challenges – from changing demographics to major disruptions to international student recruitment,” Iwanenko said. “We believe there is an opportunity to build domestic student enrollment – but you need scale to do that. Ursuline on its own – just like Gannon on its own – would find it difficult to navigate the years ahead, but together they can create something special that is stronger than the parts. What’s more, this unites two Catholic schools and preserves a century’s-long legacy of faith-based
education.”
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About the Institutions
Gannon University is a Catholic university founded in 1925 in Erie, Pennsylvania, with an additional location in Florida. The university serves 4,400 students through more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple colleges and schools.
Ursuline College, founded in 1871 by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Pepper Pike, Ohio, serving about 1,000 students through undergraduate and graduate programs.
