Soka University is exploring acquisition of the Middlebury Institute in Monterey.

Leaders at Soka University of America are in exclusive negotiations with Middlebury College officials for the potential acquisition of the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and some graduate programs, each institution announced on May 11.

The boards of both schools have signed letters of intent for the purchase and are entering into due diligence, expected to take up to 60 days.

If the deal closes, Soka has committed to using the name Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America.

Middlebury’s leadership announced last August that the Vermont-based college would be closing down most MIIS programs by spring 2027. Middlebury officials said they would be open to an acquisition by another institution if an offer came along, and Soka President Ed Feasel approached Middlebury last fall about the potential to add a Northern California graduate school to the Orange County liberal arts school’s offerings.

“If Soka was going to build a graduate program, this is what we would want to create,” Feasel says. “Our mission is to foster global citizens who lead contributive lives.”

The school was founded 25 years ago and offers undergrad degrees in liberal arts, with a focus on global learning. (There is currently one graduate degree program in educational leadership.) Soka-style education was founded in Japan and the word in Japanese means “to create value.” Soka plans to maintain many core programs at MIIS, including nonproliferation studies and threat intelligence; translation and localization management; and international policy and development.

Since Middlebury acquired MIIS beginning in 2005, the Vermont campus found that the grad school was a money loser. Asked what will be different for Soka, Feasel points to geographic proximity on the West Coast and a programmatic alignment; already, 20 alumni from Soka have gone through MIIS programs. “I am excited about synergy,” he says.

The acquisition would give Soka a chance to add a graduate school without starting from scratch. And there is also a passion for keeping the programs going. “Everybody felt it was a shame that these programs would disappear,” Feasel says.

He believes they can turn around the declining enrollment trend: “We are optimistic these are important programs and there is demand out there for them. Faculty are ready to get engaged with the recruiting process.”

Philip Murphy, a MIIS professor of policy analytics, has led a committee of faculty trying to preserve a future for the institute. He is enthusiastic about the Soka potential, but concerned that the intended program list does not include MIIS’ renowned translation and interpretation program.

“If that program is not continued, there will no longer be any translation and interpretation program in the United States,” Murphy notes. “We are getting a glimmer of hope. But without our translation and interpretation colleagues, it is a bitter victory.”