Baltimore City Community College faculty were “blindsided” by a plan to consolidate their employer with the University of Baltimore, according to Laura Pope, the faculty union chair.

Pope confronted BCCC board Chair Kurt Schmoke, who is also president of the University of Baltimore and the architect of the potential merger, at Wednesday’s meeting of the community college board.

“There are many faculty who believe the board of trustees and the BCCC administration have not been acting in good faith by not informing us,” Pope told Schmoke. “We want transparency.”

The Banner reported this week that Schmoke, a former mayor of Baltimore, is pushing for an “institutional consolidation” between the struggling four-year university and the community college.

Schmoke said in an interview that he hoped to fold BCCC into the University of Baltimore as a formal division, akin to its law school and graduate and professional program. He envisions the university as a single institution that would offer the option of a two-year degree, a four-year degree, graduate and professional degrees, and workforce and apprenticeship certificates.

Pope, who called the plan secretive, said she was informed of the potential consolidation when a Banner reporter contacted her Thursday seeking comment. The union, which was certified last October, is negotiating a contract with the community college.

“Most concerningly,” she said, “the BCCC faculty union have been actively engaged with bargaining for several months and this issue has not been mentioned once at the table.“

Schmoke told Pope at the meeting that the planning process for the potential consolidation will “involve faculty, students, staff and alumni,” but he did not share specific information about how feedback will be collected. He said he first met with BCCC President Debra L. McCurdy in July and that she was supportive of the idea.

McCurdy attended the meeting but did not mention the plan and spoke only briefly.

Pope began to question Schmoke directly, which is not usually allowed for an outside speaker at a board meeting.

“I think that many of us would sleep much better tonight if we knew the answer to this question,” Pope said. “Are you looking for this to be brought before the Maryland legislature in 2026?”

Schmoke told The Banner this week that he was aiming to have legislation to support the consolidation this winter. Responding to Pope’s query Wednesday night, however, he said “nothing could be implemented, in my view, before July 2027.”

Both the University of Baltimore and BCCC have struggled with declining enrollment. The student body at the university has decreased by nearly 50% in the last decade, from 6,422 to 3,232. At the community college, enrollment has fallen from 7,000 students in 2011 to 4,375 last fall.

But the consolidation will face challenges.

First, Schmoke has a potential conflict arising from his roles as the University of Baltimore president and the chair of BCCC’s board of trustees.

Schmoke would also have to win General Assembly approval, which could be an uphill battle. He said in an interview last week that lawmakers he’s approached were interested but none had committed their full support.

A third issue involves the community college’s union. Under Maryland law, the faculty at community colleges are allowed to unionize. That’s not the case for the state’s public four-year universities.

When Pope questioned Schmoke on what would happen with the “union discrepancy” question, he responded that it was a concern that had to be “answered and considered” but didn’t share specifics.

Schmoke said the board would discuss the plan later in the meeting, but after 45 minutes, the board went into closed session.

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