Villanova finalizes agreement to acquire Cabrini University campus

Villanova has finalized an agreement to purchase Cabrini University’s campus when the school ceases operations at the end of the academic year, the schools announced jointly on Thursday.

New details have emerged since the Catholic universities, a mere two miles apart, first announced in June that they were exploring the acquisition after the cash-strapped Cabrini concluded it had to close. Villanova has promised in the agreement to preserve Cabrini’s legacy and mission, keeping the campus name as the Cabrini campus of Villanova University. Among the efforts are a pledge to create an institute on immigration.

Also, two representatives chosen by Cabrini, including at least one from the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the founders of Cabrini, will get seats on Villanova’s trustees board for up to two successive terms of five years, the schools said.

» READ MORE: Villanova has tentative agreement to buy Cabrini University campus; Cabrini will close in 2024

“It was important to honor the work of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by continuing to foster what St. Frances Xavier Cabrini called ‘education of the heart,’” said Helen Drinan, president of the 66-year-old Cabrini. “The Cabrini University impact does not end when our doors close.”

But no details were released on how Villanova plans to use the 112-acre campus in Radnor. The school said it plans to discuss that with its community and assess the possibilities over the next several years.

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue, Villanova’s president, said in June that the law school would not be moving there, seeking to put to rest an earlier rumor.

And no details were released on the agreement’s financial arrangement, which is still subject to a series of regulatory approvals expected to occur over the next year.

Cabrini’s $42 million endowment will be conferred to Villanova under the oversight of Orphan’s Court, the normal procedure for such an occurrence. The court monitors to make sure gifts are used with the donors’ original intent and intervenes if disputes arise.

» READ MORE: As the Cabrini community reels from its closure announcement, other Catholic colleges woo its students

The trustee boards of both universities, as well as the board of the Missionary Sisters, have approved the agreement, the schools said.

For the first time since the semester started, Drinan provided enrollment numbers, showing a drop of more than one-third. Total enrollment stands at 1,046: 708 undergraduates and 338 graduate students. That’s down from 1,616 last year: including 1,186 undergraduates and 430 graduate students.

Drinan said much of the drop was in freshmen who chose to start college elsewhere. The university also closed its nursing program, which was relatively new, and helped to get all 60 students enrolled at other colleges.

The university is anticipating losing some more students in the spring, mostly among those who played fall sports. But Drinan said she expects that loss will be in the double digits.

The university also has lost 10% to 15% of its employees who have taken other jobs. But that includes only a few of its 60 professors. The university is offering retention bonuses and/or severance to employees who remain through the academic year, she said.

The loss of students and employees will not impact Cabrini’s ability to finish the year and graduate its final class in May, she said.

“We are committed to giving our students the best year we can give them,” Drinan said.

Cabrini has established arrangements with four local colleges — Eastern University, Gwynedd-Mercy University, Ursinus College and Holy Family University — to help ease transfer of credits for students. And it’s working with St. Joseph’s University to accept students in its criminal justice program with a master’s degree attached, and with Thomas Jefferson University for its graphic arts students.

As part of the agreement, Villanova also said it would “provide resources to commemorate, celebrate and document [Mother Cabrini’s and the Cabrini campus’] history and artifacts.” That includes clothing and personal items from Mother Cabrini and artwork. The items will owned by the Missionary Sisters, but on loan to Villanova, Drinan said.

And, Villanova said it would incorporate the work of Cabrini’s Wolfington Center into Villanova programs that seek to nurture students’ passion for social change.

Also planned is the establishment of a “Cabrini scholars” program offering scholarships to students from Cabrini High School in New Orleans and an annual event highlighting women’s leadership in honor of Mother Cabrini.

Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC), the religious order of the college’s namesake, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, the university has had a focus on social justice learning throughout its history. Originally a college, it became a university in 2016.

Cabrini’s financial problems have been mounting over years. Standard & Poor’s a year ago downgraded Cabrini’s credit rating to “BBB-” from “BBB,” citing the institution’s long run of enrollment declines and operating losses. The school also announced about that time that it would eliminate a handful of senior academic leadership jobs — including the top spot of provost — as part of a larger reorganization to downsize.

» READ MORE: With a mounting deficit, Cabrini University eliminates academic leadership positions, including the provost

In financial disclosures to bondholders about that time, Cabrini had posted operating losses for nine straight years, back to fiscal 2013. The documents show that enrollment, as measured by total headcount, had fallen for at least five straight years.

In 2021, Cabrini also made cuts in programs and staff as it coped with a deficit.

Drinan said earlier this year that Cabrini’s deficit had grown to more than $10 million in its approximate $45 million budget.

By comparison, Villanova, with its 260-acre campus and more than 6,700 full-time undergraduates and 3,100 graduate and law students, has maintained a much stronger financial profile, remaining consistently profitable with an endowment of $1.19 billion.

Staff writer Harold Brubaker contributed to this article.