Bloomfield College, a private college in Bloomfield, N.J., and Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., have announced plans to merge.
Under the plan, Bloomfield will operate under the name Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, Montclair State University says in a news release.
Bloomfield College will continue to operate independently through the 2022-2023 academic year until it is officially part of the university.
The two campuses are about 7 miles apart.
Bloomfield students enrolled at the time of the merger will be able to continue their education without interruption and without additional costs. Montclair State University will also try to absorb Bloomfield College's current employees.
The goal is for the merger to be completed on or before June 30, 2023.
In October 2021, Bloomfield College announced it was seeking strategic partnerships and philanthropic support to continue operating. More than 81% of Bloomfield College students are people of color, nearly 70% are Pell Grant eligible and the median family income is below $33,000. Bloomfield College is the only four-year college in New Jersey recognized as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), and Minority Serving Institution (MSI).
Bloomfield received other inquiries from interested institutions, but the most promising came from Montclair State, officials said.
