KENDALL COLLEGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS STATEMENT ANNOUNCING AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL LOUIS UNIVERSITY (NLU) TO TRANSFER KENDALL’S CURRENT PROGRAMS TO NLU, CONTINGENT ON REGULATORY APPROVALS
January 16, 2018
A Statement from the Kendall College Board of Directors
Today, the boards of both Kendall College and National Louis University (NLU) announced that they have entered into an agreement to transfer Kendall College programs and assets to NLU. (Press Release) This arrangement also has the approval of Kendall’s parent, Laureate Education, Inc. This transfer of programs is contingent on regulatory approvals, including that of the U.S. Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission, whose decision is expected the second half of this year, but possibly as soon as this summer.
Increasingly, Kendall faced challenges similar to other small colleges in the U.S. The Kendall Board and leadership took deliberate steps to consider how best to preserve Kendall’s mission in Chicago, in the U.S., and internationally. Critical to these considerations was identifying ways to ensure current students can continue to pursue their chosen field of study and achieve their educational goals. The Kendall Board was pleased when the option to transfer Kendall’s programs to NLU presented itself. The Board believes this is an innovative and thoughtful solution that allows Kendall’s name and legacy to continue and provides a strong pathway for current and future students to continue to pursue their degree as part of the NLU community.
As part of this agreement, NLU will create a new college within the University that will be known as the Kendall College of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management at NLU which will include the Baking & Pastry, Culinary Arts, and Hospitality Management programs. With financial and professional support from Laureate and Kendall, NLU will build new state-of-the-art facilities for these programs. The Business and Early Childhood Education programs, and General Education programs, will merge into NLU’s existing programs.
We know the Kendall community and others may have questions over the coming months, and we are committed to providing further information on a regular basis directly to our students, faculty and staff, and will also use the Kendall website to disseminate information more broadly. Although decisions such as these are not easy, we are pleased that this agreement will provide our current students the ability to continue their studies and pursue their degrees in a strong academic environment that shares our values, commitment to offering professional education, and focus on serving our communities.
Sincerely,
Kendall College Board of Directors
