Chapman transfers control of Brandman University in $130 million deal
Chapman President Daniele Struppa transferred control of Brandman University and its physical property to the University of Massachusetts’ online division in a $130 million deal. Photo courtesy of WikiCommons
A webpage once providing a historical overview of Chapman’s ties with Brandman, an accredited university for working adults within the Chapman University System, now reads a simple message: “404 Error.”
Chapman President Daniele Struppa closed a deal Sept. 1 with the University of Massachusetts’ (UMass) online division, transferring ownership of Brandman University and its operations hub in Irvine to UMass for financial compensation. Struppa told The Panther proceeds will be used to grow Chapman’s endowment to supply more scholarships, but when asked about how much money the institution would acquire from the transaction, Struppa declined to comment.
However, a Sept. 2 article from Inside HigherEd labeled the figure as $130 million over 10 years.
“The endowment is what’s going to allow us to provide scholarships to students that traditionally would not be able to afford to come to Chapman,” Struppa said. “The only way I can actually make that happen is by building enough endowment to provide financial support.”
In 1958, when Chapman was not yet a four-year university, the institution decided to offer classes on military bases to service members. The program expanded into a full-fledged university — Brandman — which offers 25 physical campus locations and specializes in hybrid and online learning.
Courtesy of WikiCommons
Now, the intent of providing flexible learning environments to adult students remains the same, but Brandman will operate under the label of UMass Global. The original Brandman website shifted to the new title Sept. 1 as well.
Struppa explained that the decision was multi-faceted, as it will allow him to focus on Chapman, which caters to a more traditional college experience in regard to age demographic and prioritization of on-campus learning.
“Online learning was rapidly growing in importance for adult learners before the pandemic, but the last year and a half has demonstrated that UMass Global will be essential to millions of adults in Massachusetts, California and across the nation as job markets have been disrupted and employer needs and priorities have shifted,” said UMass President Marty Meehan in a Sept. 2 press release obtained from Chapman’s Office of Public Relations.
Struppa told The Panther he’d been vocalizing his support for transferring ownership of Brandman since he first stepped into his role as president of Chapman in 2016.
“My intent was ...to find a large university that could continue the trajectory that we have set up for Brandman,” Struppa said. “The board of Brandman knew this, and (Brandman Chancellor) Gary Brahm knew this.”
According to Struppa, the decision to sever ties with the online university during Chapman’s transition back to in-person learning “is absolutely coincidental.”
“We had one micro problem after another,” Struppa said. “We were hoping to do this in December, and it took us nine more months to get to the point.”
Some complications that Struppa attributed to the delay included auditing and verifying information with financial aid.
Chapman had not alerted the student body of the transaction until yesterday. However, the Brandman University news page published a press release Feb. 12 — almost seven months ago — affirming the institution’s pending affiliation with UMass.
Struppa said he suspects there is no interest in maintaining ties between the two institutions.
Correction: A previous version of this headline stated “Chapman sells Brandman University in $130 million deal.” As UMass Global is a nonprofit, they cannot be sold.
