Most Cornish College faculty and staff expected to be hired by Seattle U

Update (03-24-25): Seattle University, via a spokesperson, says that “most of the Cornish staff and faculty who will be laid off, as part of the official close of the deal, will be hired at Seattle University.”

Original Story:

Seattle University (SU) will absorb Cornish College of the Arts, finalizing a deal that will see the 110-year-old arts institution close by the end of May. All faculty and staff at Cornish will be laid off at the end of May, though Seattle U says it intends to rehire “some” of the them.

The two private colleges announced Tuesday that their boards had approved an agreement for SU to acquire Cornish’s assets. The transaction is set to close on May 31, months ahead of the original 2025 timeline.

“(The agreement) entrusts Seattle University with Cornish’s long legacy of excellence and innovation in arts education. We welcome this responsibility as a generational opportunity to elevate and enhance the arts and arts education at SU for students and the broader community we, and Cornish, have served for more than 100 years,” Eduardo Peñalver, Seattle University president, said in a statement.

Seattle U plans to establish a new Cornish College of the Arts on Cornish’s existing campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle by the start of the fall 2025 academic term.

After transition, there will be roughly 127 jobs lost

With the transition, Cornish will cease to exist as an independent, nonprofit degree-granting institution.

The transition impacts Cornish’s 40 full-time faculty and 87 staff members, all of whom will be laid off, according to The Seattle Times. Seattle U has committed to rehiring some employees but has not specified how many. Severance packages will be provided for those not offered positions. In an email to MyNorthwest, a consultant working for Cornish, says the layoffs are a “technical requirement by federal law” and reiterated the intent to rehire some of the staff.

Cornish’s 437 students, including incoming freshmen, will transition to SU in fall 2025 while continuing their studies at the Cornish campus. They will also have access to SU’s resources, including counseling, health services, and recreational facilities.

Students who graduate from the Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University will receive their degree from Seattle University.

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