Administration and faculty members of Salus University in Elkins Park, which was approved to merge with Drexel University this summer by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, recently learned the extent of Drexel’s financial woes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

In a separate article, the Inquirer reported that Drexel announced earlier this fall that it would be cutting staff and benefits as it faces a $63 million operating loss and 15% fewer first-year students.

According to the story, Salus University president Michael H. Mittelman said in a recent faculty meeting that if he had known more about the school’s outstanding structural deficit prior to the merger, the outcome would have been different.

“We’re not happy about it,” Mittelman said during the meeting. “Frankly, if we would have known what we know today, I think the outcome would have been different.”

The combined universities are still awaiting approvals from the U.S. Department of Education to participate in federal financial aid programs, the Inquirer said.

“When we agreed to merge and this was done with a lot of scrutiny and a lot of rigor,” Mittelman told faculty at the meeting, according to a recording and transcript provided to the Inquirer, “… the financials were strong, on both sides, and we moved forward.”

“I do not dispute making an offhand comment, which I regret, during a private meeting … but I want to reaffirm that I enthusiastically support the Salus-Drexel partnership and the extraordinary potential it represents,” Mittelman said in a statement about his meeting remarks.

Faculty in Salus’ Pennsylvania College of Optometry expressed concerned about Drexel’s financial state and the departure of John A. Fry as Drexel’s president. According to the story, a group of 13 emeritus professors haven’t been given meaningful responses from Drexel.

Both optometry faculty and more than 360 students have approved no-confidence votes in Mittelman, the Inquirer said.

In September, Salus removed Dr. Melissa Trego, dean of its Pennsylvania College of Optometry since 2017, which sparked an outcry from faculty and students.

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Photo: Salus University