April 25, 2026
Jeff Piorkowski/special to cleveland.com
PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Ursuline College announced in September 2024 that it would be merging with Gannon University of Erie, Pa., this June.
With that merger date nearly upon us, the Ursuline commencement exercise scheduled for May 3 is being seen as historic.
It will close a 155-year chapter for Ursuline, marking its final commencement as an independent institution.
The Class of 2026 commencement is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 3 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, just weeks ahead of the June 30 merger.
More than 300 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to participate.
The college will remain in Pepper Pike and will be known as the Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University.
Ursuline was founded in 1871 as a woman’s college by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland, in the city of Cleveland.
The Sisters moved the college to its Pepper Pike campus, 2550 Lander Road, in October 1966.
Since its founding, Ursuline College has strived to be a pioneer in women’s education and a force in preparing students for lives of purpose and impact.
The merger was announced at a time when smaller colleges and universities around the country began making news for closing due to financial difficulties.
In the spring of 2024, an example of such a college was Notre Dame College of South Euclid, founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame, which closed shortly after celebrating its centennial.
Notre Dame College stated that its closing was due to financial difficulties -- namely what court records now show as a $17.8 million debt and declining enrollment.
Gannon was founded in 1925 and, in the 2024-25 school year, had an enrollment of nearly 4,200 students.
Ursuline College sees this spring’s commencement as not only celebrating the achievements of graduates, but also honoring the legacy of the Ursuline Sisters in educating women and serving the community.
The commencement ceremony will be presided over by Ursuline President David King, who served as the college’s first male president -- and its final president.
He became Ursuline president in 2024 and was tasked with finding a partner institution for Ursuline.
“This commencement represents both a culmination and a continuation,” King said in a news release.
“We honor the achievements of our graduates and the extraordinary legacy of the Ursuline Sisters, whose vision has guided this institution for more than a century.
“At the same time, we look forward with confidence -- knowing that Ursuline’s mission will not only endure, but grow stronger through our partnership with Gannon University.
“Our graduates step into the world at a moment of meaning, carrying forward a tradition of leadership rooted in integrity, compassion and purpose.”
The merged schools will continue on with a Catholic educational system, while seeking to preserve their identities and heritage.
Graduating senior Ta’Lia Johnson, who majored in social work and minored in trauma-informed care, said that being part of the final Ursuline College graduating class is “bittersweet.”
“I’m proud to say I’m part of the last graduating class,” she said.
“But it comes with a sense of loss. My hope was that my daughters (now 8 and 10 years old) could also graduate from Ursuline College.
“The community and the support I received from peers and especially my professor, Dr. (Kylie) Evans, meant a lot to me.
“To me, Ursuline embodied support, structure and encouragement.”
Originally from Cleveland, Johnson is now living in Covington, Ga., but said she will return for the commencement.
Fredrick Nance is the parent of special needs Ursuline student Ricky Nance, who will also be graduating May 3.
Both were very pleased with the special needs care Ricky received after transferring over from Notre Dame College after its closure.
“(Ursuline) had a special needs program, but amped it up (after Notre Dame’s closing),” Frederick said.
“Ursuline had a better support system,” Ricky, who is autistic, said of his transfer from NDC.
He said that more than a dozen students are enrolled in special needs services at Ursuline.
“I got assistance from (faculty member) Beth Thompson, who is a really good professional when it comes to managing work and providing me with ideas and feedback, and also allowing me to have extensions with big papers.”
Ricky has a job lined up as a paraprofessional following graduation. He will work at the Julie Billiart School of Lyndhurst, which he once attended.
Frederick Nance, of Moreland Hills, said he will continue to support Ursuline following the merger.
He said he recently had dinner with Gannon University leaders and felt very confident after meeting them that the Ursuline tradition of excellence would continue.
“Until you are in a position that you know you need the type of support a school like Ursuline can provide for special needs kids -- the public probably isn’t even aware they do it,” he said.
“I want to tell you they’re a tremendous resource in this community.
“It changes lives, with focus, with love, with resources and expertise. We’re very lucky to have them.”
Delivering the keynote address May 3 will be Sister Laura Bregar, president of the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland and an Ursuline College alumna.
Her selection is especially meaningful. As leader of the founding religious community, Bregar will represent both the college’s origins and its enduring values.
“This moment is not an ending, but an expression of who we have always been,” Bregar said.
“For more than 175 years, the Ursuline Sisters have been called to educate, to serve and to respond with courage to the needs of the time.
“That mission lives on in every Ursuline graduate.
“As this new chapter begins, we do so with deep gratitude for our history and abiding faith in the future -- trusting that what has been planted here will continue to grow in ways we cannot yet see.”
While this year’s commencement marks an ending, it also signals a beginning: the continuation of Ursuline’s mission within a strengthened Catholic educational partnership, grounded in the same values that have guided the college since its founding.
