Eastern Mennonite University and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community announced a strategic partnership on May 11 that includes EMU selling to VMRC a 13-acre forest situated between the neighboring institutions.

The transaction allows the retirement community to plan for future growth and provides EMU with resources to advance its educational mission. A joint release described the partnership as supporting both institutions’ “long-term strategic goals by strengthening financial sustainability.”

In a joint response to questions from Anabaptist World, Braydon Hoover, EMU vice president of enrollment and marketing, and Emily Anderson, VMRC director of process management, said the partnership was not in response to concerns about the financial stability of EMU or VMRC. They said the purchase price and transaction terms were not being publicly disclosed.

EMU has owned Park Woods since 1917, when the school began as a Bible academy on the outskirts of Harrisonburg. VMRC has committed to preserving the forest as a green space.

“The intent of the acquisition is conservation and stewardship rather than development,” they wrote.

The partnership includes an opportunity for VMRC to purchase EMU’s baseball field, which sits adjacent to Park Woods, within the next five years for potential expansion, which would include construction of a new ballfield elsewhere on EMU’s campus.

Hoover told AW that “strengthening financial stability” means taking prudent steps to enhance EMU’s ability to full its mission for years to come.

“EMU is experiencing positive momentum across multiple areas of the university at a time when much of higher education faces significant headwinds, and this partnership represents a proactive opportunity to strengthen the university’s long-term sustainability, support investment in key priorities, and expand collaboration with a trusted community partner,” he said.

EMU’s 2025 tax filings reported $2.37 million more in expenses than revenues in the fiscal year ending in 2024, following a $1.73 million deficit in the 2023 fiscal year. The 2023-24 President’s Annual Report indicated long-term debt grew to $13.4 million in the 2024 fiscal year following four straight years of declines to a recent low of $10.1 million in fiscal year 2022. With the exception of a slight increase four years ago, total enrollment has declined from a high of 1,652 students in 2016-17 to 1,130 students in 2025-26.

The university announced its Reimagining EMU strategic plan last September in response to rising costs and a demographic drop-off in students graduating high school. EMU reconfigured its academic structure from three schools to two divisions to increase efficiency and is phasing out programs with low interest, such as standalone majors in chemistry, economics, history, health and physical education, and writing studies.

“This partnership reflects who we are and how we want to lead,” said EMU Interim President Shannon W. Dycus in the May 11 announcement. “It builds on decades of relationship, shared geography and common values, while positioning both institutions to respond thoughtfully and responsibly to the future.”