The head of Heythrop College has said a planned partnership with St Mary’s University would retain the use of its valuable central London site.
The 400-year-old Jesuit-run college and St Mary’s, which was granted full university status last year, are in the middle of detailed negotiations over a merger that would represent a major development of Catholic higher education in the United Kingdom. A final agreement is expected by the early summer.
Heythrop is currently located in a quiet, residential square off High Street Kensington, a prime inner London site, while St Mary’s is situated on a 50-acre campus in Twickenham, in the south-west of the capital.
Speaking to The Tablet on Wednesday, Fr Michael Holman SJ, Heythrop’s principal, said any partnership arrangement would mean working “across both campuses”.
“There is a great advantage of being in the centre of the city,” he said. “There would be great advantage for St Mary’s to have a central London centre although it already has a fine, beautiful campus.”
Fr Holman explained that the two institutions were looking to develop a “joint entity” that would make a “significant contribution to research, teaching and learning, outreach and public-square work”, adding: “We believe we can do more together than we can apart.”
In the meantime, Fr Holman said there was a great deal of work to do on an organisational, legal, financial and academic level. He added the college was committed to the teaching of its current undergraduate students until the end of 2017. Heythrop, which specialises in theology and philosophy, is a constituent college of the University of London, a position it would give up if a deal is cut with St Mary’s.
Heythrop is facing financial difficulties and has announced it will not accept undergraduates from this September. It is understood that without a partnership deal, the college could close.
Fr Holman said Heythrop, an autonomous college with around 650 students, does not have the “economies of scale” needed but that it would be a “crying shame” if the college’s mission came to an end. He said the college would do all it could to make the St Mary’s deal work but if it were not possible then it would need to look at other options. A spokeswoman for Heythrop explained that one of these options would be closure.
Fr Holman said Heythrop needed to make sure it had the resources to enter into a partnership with St Mary’s, citing Luke 14:28, where Christ says anyone wishing to build a tower works out if they have enough resources to build it.
The next Heythrop governors meeting takes place on 25 May.
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