When Colleges Close: Leading in a Time of Crisis, authored by Mary L. Churchill and David J. Chard, describes the closure of Wheelock College in Boston, a 130-year-old institution whose mission was to prepare professionals to work in the helping fields, such as teaching or social work. In an era where more and more institutions are at-risk of closure, this book offers a detailed description of how the board and administration of one small college, with enrollment of under 1100 students, determined early that it needed to plan for a future in which it would no longer be viable. The authors, David Chard, Wheelock’s former President and Mary Churchill, former Vice President for Academic Affairs, provide a sobering story of a venerable, regional institution that was facing long-term enrollment challenges rather than short-term cash flow issues.

The authors provide the reader with an understanding of the process they designed with their board and select members of the Wheelock community to generate multiple viable partnership options. They also describe how they managed the process through the final negotiations despite their being a small institution in an asymmetric merger with Boston University, a member of the AAU with an enrollment of over 33,000 students. 

The book is written for individuals in leadership roles in both small colleges and larger universities who may find themselves in similar situations and for scholars of higher education who study leadership actions and strategic planning. It contributes to the literature on higher education mergers (Martin & Samels, 2017; Azziz, et al, 2019), by providing readers with a detailed example of a merger and the many leadership decisions that need to be made as part of the process.  Each chapter includes a series of leadership lessons that the reader can consider in light of the Wheelock-BU merger or in their own decision making.

Dr. Mary L. Churchill was Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wheelock College. Before joining Wheelock College, Churchill was Associate Provost and Dean at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. She is also the creator of the University of Venus blog at Inside Higher Ed. Currently, Churchill is Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement at BU Wheelock.  Dr. David J. Chard was the President of Wheelock College. From 2007-2016, Chard was the dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU in Dallas, Texas. Currently he is the Dean ad interim of BU Wheelock. Both Churchill and Chard reside in Boston, MA.