Texas A&M University is close to winning approval of a plan to acquire Texas Wesleyan University’s School of Law for $25-million in a deal that would form an unusual partnership between a major public university and a smaller private institution, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The partnership could involve joint degree programs in the future, officials said in comments reported by TamuTimes, the Texas A&M online news service. Texas A&M officials described the acquisition as part of a strategy to expand the university’s graduate professional programs, in keeping with a long-range goal of becoming one of the nation’s top 10 public universities by 2020.
Texas Wesleyan’s governing board approved the plan on Monday, and the Texas A&M board is expected to sign off on Friday. The plan also needs approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Texas A&M would acquire ownership and operational control of the school, and its faculty and staff members would become A&M employees. Texas Wesleyan would continue to own the building, in downtown Fort Worth, and would lease the property to A&M for about $2.5 million a year.
