Boston Art Institute to Merge With Lesley College

The Art Institute of Boston will merge with Lesley College, the two institutions announced last week.

The Art Institute, a four-year visual-arts college with 500 students, will become the fifth school within Lesley, which is based in Cambridge, Mass.

Paul Karoff, Lesley’s vice-president for public affairs, said, “The thing that is really prompting this merger is that there is an overwhelming compatibility of programs.”

Stan Trecker, the Art Institute’s president, said, “We felt very strongly that there were some areas where we could really strengthen the college by aligning with another institution.”

Lesley will pay for arts facilities that the Art Institute does not have the money to support. Lesley’s students will have access to the institute’s classes and facilities. Institute students will have access to Lesley’s larger library, bookstore, and other facilities, as well as its courses. Tuition will not change at either institution.

The institute also will retain its name and location here, but some of its administrative departments will be subsumed by Lesley’s.

Mr. Karoff said that Lesley would try to find positions for displaced employees, but he did not rule out the possibility that some institute personnel could lose their jobs.

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