The full Agreement and Plan of Merger will be available once it has been executed.
Bloomfield College will be merged into a new nonprofit entity controlled by Montclair State University to be known as Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. Bloomfield College and Montclair State University aim to complete the merger as of June 30, 2023. From that point forward, Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, as a constituent college of Montclair State University, will continue to provide a distinctive educational experience consistent with Bloomfield College’s mission to provide a transformative education with an emphasis on empowering first-generation students from a diversity of backgrounds, and where students will have access to and benefit from the resources available to all Montclair State University students.
Bloomfield College of Montclair State University will be under the purview of the Montclair State University Board of Trustees, who will appoint a senior administrative leader to serve as Chancellor of the College who will report to the President of the University. A non-fiduciary Bloomfield College Advisory Council, which may initially include at least three members of the current Bloomfield College Board of Trustees, will be tasked with advising the Montclair State University Board and senior administration on matters pertaining to the College.
Bloomfield College students enrolled at the time of the merger will be able to continue in their current programs of study and will not be required to re-apply for admission. Montclair State University and Bloomfield College of Montclair State University will honor credits for all Bloomfield College classes taken prior to the merger, and all coursework, grades, and major and minor degrees previously earned at Bloomfield College.
Montclair State University will make every effort to provide employment opportunities for Bloomfield employees, either with Montclair State University or Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. Within 60 days of execution of the merger agreement, Montclair State University will begin interviewing Bloomfield College employees for possible employment. As of the closing date of the merger, by which time all Bloomfield College employees will have been considered for employment with Montclair State University or Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, employment by Bloomfield College will end. Bloomfield College will comply with any contractual obligations to its employees in connection with this process.
Immediately following the effective date, Bloomfield College of Montclair State University will have a faculty separate and apart from Montclair State University, provided that Montclair State University will set standards, policies, and procedures for new and continuing faculty appointments. Montclair State University will ensure that there is a sufficient number of employees and other personnel, including faculty, appropriately qualified to carry out the academic programs of Bloomfield College of Montclair State University in compliance with educational requirements, including the requirements of the institution’s accreditors and regulators.
Employees of Bloomfield College of Montclair State University will be public employees and members of the collective negotiating units which encompass their positions at Montclair State University.
Recognizing the historic importance of Bloomfield College’s athletic program, Bloomfield College and Montclair State University will explore arrangements that may enable Bloomfield College of Montclair State University to retain distinctive athletic programs and separately to participate in NCAA Division II.
Prior to the merger, the New Jersey State Legislature must act to modify Bloomfield’s charter, and the Agreement and Plan of Merger must be approved by a number of third parties, including the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and U.S. Department of Education.