I was reading some Wiki articles on the University of Chicago and found out that in the thirties, there was a proposal to merge it with Northwestern into the "Universities of Chicago" due to financial difficulties during the Great Depression. This is extremely interesting to me, as both universities at the time were very large and had well-developed research and undergrad programs. They are still some of the most respected and prestigious Unis in the country, and apparently there was a lot of benefit to merging the two. Doing so would have pretty much complemented each school's weaknesses and strengths, as well as solved pretty much all of the financial problems. Graduate and professional schools would have been undertaken in Chicago, and undergrad programs would have been done in Evanston. OTL it failed mainly because of opposition from the two medical schools and certain student and alumni groups, but what if it hadn't? What would be the effects of this merger on Chicago, and the scientific and academic world? Would Chicago have developed into something akin to Silicon Valley, or even replace it? Could Chicago be a more important city than OTL?
Also, I assume that these two were not the only failed mergers in the history of Education, not only in the US, but around the world. What were those failed mergers, and what if they had succeeded? And what would be the knock-on affects of those mergers on the cities and greater world? I'm not an expert on the history of education, but I would definitely like to know more about this.
Also, I assume that these two were not the only failed mergers in the history of Education, not only in the US, but around the world. What were those failed mergers, and what if they had succeeded? And what would be the knock-on affects of those mergers on the cities and greater world? I'm not an expert on the history of education, but I would definitely like to know more about this.