114 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS For the clear majority of the deans we interviewed, a financial crisis was either the primary reason for college mergers or drove the timing of the merger. Merging Colleges Across Campuses or Universities The next examples represent situations when campuses are merged—some- times called consolidated or unified—and two or more colleges from the different campuses are subsequently merged or significantly reshuffled. These case summaries begin with what led to the merger and then describe the administrative processes and experiences of the college dean(s). Campus mergers were infrequent in the past but have increased in the past several years. For example, in Georgia alone, both types of mergers have occurred, including mergers of a research university with a comprehensive (Georgia Health Science University and Augusta College), a research university with a community college (Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College), two technical campuses (Moultrie Technical College and Southwest Georgia Technical College), and an HBCU and comprehensive campus (Albany State University and Darton State University). As these Georgia examples illustrate, campuses do not need to be of similar kinds, sizes, or missions to be merged. Private institutions are not immune to consolidation: Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University have merged, as did George Washington University and Corcoran College of Art + Design, and campuses within Hawaii Pacific University (three examples of many). Case: Rough start, smooth finish Although separated by a 45-minute drive, two public comprehensives in the same state system were performing well by any measure. A new chancellor of the state system was hired and made a foreshadowing statement, “Why do we need two univer- sities so close together in the same system?” The campuses themselves could easily highlight their distinguishing features: one campus was urban, commuter-based, diverse, and primarily part-time, while the other was rural, residential, less-diverse, and full-time. Surely the chancellor will realize these distinctive characteristics and hence missions? Shortly after one of the presidents announced his pending retirement, employees of both campuses received an email regarding the imminent merger of both campuses. Everyone from the provosts to the students was shocked. The respective campus presidents soon shared with their campuses what transpired in the lead-up to the announcement. The two presidents had been asked by the chancellor to create a range of options on how the campuses could work together more closely given their proximity. The presidents dutifully created options, from the extremes of sharing a few faculty members to merging the campuses. They expected a protracted conversation on how to grow such partnerships. Instead, the