Santa Barbara, CA / Albany, NY — ELM2 Advisors is proud to have advised and represented Fielding Graduate University in its combination with Excelsior University, a transaction that brings together two mission-driven institutions with more than fifty years each of pioneering adult and graduate education. The governing boards of both universities have unanimously approved the agreement. The institutional accrediting bodies have approved the agreement, and it is awaiting federal approval.
Under the agreement, Fielding will merge into Excelsior and become the Fielding College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences — a new college that will carry forward Fielding’s mission, faculty, and academic identity, including its doctoral, master’s, and certificate programs. Fielding brings nationally distinctive strengths, among them the only APA-accredited clinical psychology doctoral program delivered through a distributed model. Because Fielding’s disciplines do not overlap with Excelsior’s existing portfolio, the combination expands Excelsior’s reach into graduate and doctoral education while giving Fielding the institutional infrastructure, financial stability, and online-learning expertise of a university serving more than 12,000 students and 200,000 alumni worldwide.
For Fielding — a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1974 with approximately 1,000 students and 7,500 alumni — the combination resolves the central challenge facing many small, tuition-dependent institutions: how to preserve a distinctive mission and legacy when independent operation is no longer sustainable over the long term. Rather than retrench, Fielding’s board and leadership acted early and from a position of purpose, securing a partner whose values, student-centered culture, and commitment to social justice closely mirror its own.
“This is exactly the kind of outcome our firm exists to create. Fielding’s leadership had the foresight to explore a strategic combination while it still had the strength to shape one. The result protects the Fielding name, its faculty and its programs — and gives students a stronger, more sustainable institution. It is a model for how mission-driven schools can turn a moment of pressure into lasting legacy.”
— Larry Penley, Partner, ELM2 Advisors
“ELM2 Advisors brings its broad and deep experience in higher education to its clients. With ELM2 Advisors, you get a consulting firm whose team members already have led successful institutional partnerships as well as a college transition and merger with other institutions.”
— John Bennett, President, Fielding Graduate University
ELM2 Advisors advises colleges and universities through the process of self-examination, review and analysis of potential partners, along with mergers, acquisitions and other strategic transactions. Its principals are former presidents, deans, provosts and investment professionals who have themselves negotiated institutional combinations — a perspective that distinguishes ELM2 from traditional consultants and investment banks. The completion of the Fielding – Excelsior combination remains subject to regulatory approvals, a process expected to unfold over the coming year.
Transaction at a glance
- Parties: Fielding Graduate University (Santa Barbara, CA) → Excelsior University (Albany, NY)
- ELM2 role: Advised and represented Fielding Graduate University
- Structure: Fielding merges into Excelsior as the new Fielding College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
- Status: Boards unanimously approved; accreditors approved; awaiting federal approval
- Fielding profile: Founded 1974; ~1,000 students; 7,500 alumni; WSCUC-accredited
- Excelsior profile: Founded 1971; ~12,000 students; 200,000+ alumni; MSCHE-accredited; 39 career-focused programs
- Strategic logic: No program overlap; Excelsior gains doctoral and graduate pathways, Fielding gains scale, infrastructure and financial stability; aligned missions in adult learning and social justice
To discuss a strategic transaction in confidence, contact Michael Ginzberg at Michael@ELM2Advisors.com or 302-584-4379.