Creation and growth Union Institute & University traced its origins to 1964, when the president of
Goddard College hosted the presidents of nine liberal arts institutions at a conference to discuss cooperation in educational innovation and experimentation.
The Union for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education was established by
Antioch College,
Bard College,
Goddard College,
Chicago Teachers North, Monteith Masson, New College at
Hofstra University,
Sarah Lawrence College,
Shimer College, and
Stephens College. The "discovery" of the English
open education movement may have played a factor in the interest in progressive education.
Samuel Baskin, a psychologist and educational reformer who served on the faculty of Stephens and Antioch colleges, was the founding president of the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, Union Graduate School, and the University Without Walls.
Margaret Mead, an anthropologist and author, was one of the institution's first professors. Renamed in 1969 as the
Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, it focused on providing educational opportunities for non-traditional students whose needs were best served by a low-residency college experience, as well as those students who sought to conduct socially relevant research in an interdisciplinary manner. The Union Graduate School's doctoral programs were based on the British
tutorial system and the first doctoral students were admitted in 1970. From its inception, the institution had a continuing emphasis on social relevance and
interdisciplinarity of research. By 1971, five more colleges and universities joined the Union, bringing the total consortium to 22 schools of higher education. In 1975, the number of colleges in the University Without Walls network reached 34. In 1976, the offices moved from
Yellow Springs, Ohio, where Antioch College was located to Cincinnati. The Union of Experimenting Colleges and Universities, or UECU, disbanded in 1982, but the
University Without Walls remained in operation after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1984. In 1989, the University Without Walls was renamed
The Union Institute.
Vermont College acquisition and spin-off The Union Institute acquired Vermont College in
Montpelier, Vermont, from
Norwich University in 2001. The purchase of Vermont College added several master's degree programs and an adult degree program to the Union's existing undergraduate and doctoral programs. This enabled The Union to provide a progression of degree opportunities, along with certificates in advanced graduate study. In October 2001, the Union Institute was renamed "Union Institute & University". In 2008, fine arts programs from Vermont College were spun off from Union into the newly independent
Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Early 2000s academic issues Union Institute & University's PhD program came under scrutiny by the
Ohio Board of Regents, culminating in a reauthorization report published in 2002. In response to the report, Union underwent major academic and structural changes, including dissolution of the Union Graduate School and restructuring of its PhD programs. The PhD in Arts and Sciences was redesigned as a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, with four majors: Ethical and Creative Leadership, Public Policy and Social Change, Humanities and Culture, and Educational Studies, and offers a specialization in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Studies.
2023 financial distress Union Institute began to publicly experience severe financial distress in March 2023 when salaries owed to university staff were paid late. Throughout 2023, the university continued to exhibit signs of financial distress including further delayed wages and being locked out of its headquarters. Some university staff filed a class action lawsuit against the university alleging that the delayed wages violate labor laws. The lawsuit was settled in March 2024 for $110,000. and then cancelled completely on November 15. In October, fifty doctoral students at Union signed a letter saying that the president of Union, Karen Schuster Webb, "should resign" and that the entire board of trustees should be replaced. Union was also placed on
Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 by the
U.S. Department of Education, a status that imposes oversight over its federal financial aid. In late November, they revoked Union's ability to receive federal financial aid and also fined the university $4.3 million, alleging that Union collected more federal funding that it was supposed to collect and failed to refund the federal government. In addition, the Education Department reported that the Institute had failed to refund more than $750,000 in student financial aid that had been required. As a consequence of being placed on heightened cash monitoring status, the
Higher Learning Commission, Union's accreditor, "assigned a Financial Distress designation to Union." In December 2023, a teach-out plan was announced between Union and
Antioch University for two master's degree programs and a doctoral program. An additional teach-out plan was signed with
Lasell University in Massachusetts. In November 2024, former students reported that months after the closure they were still unable to get transcripts from the shuttered institution. In April 2025, Union Institute filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing liabilities of more than $28 million and assets of less than $200,000. == Permanent Campus locations ==