Perhaps you’ve heard the tale of the historical museum that boasted of a spectacular artifact in its collection. It was George Washington’s bona fide original axe — the head had been replaced only twice, the handle just three times. According to a recent piece by Rose Horowitch in The Atlantic, colleges and universities are increasingly adopting the “George Washington’s axe” model of expansion.
Seeking to increase their national footprint, these schools are establishing branch campuses across America. Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, for instance, is acquiring the facilities of the San Francisco–based California College of the Arts, a financially bankrupt small college, and turning the school into a four-year undergraduate satellite campus. Vanderbilt is also launching a campus in West Palm Beach and has created a program in Manhattan. Since 2011, Northeastern University in Boston has established eight branch campuses, with a focus on graduate education. Over 20 schools have established satellite campuses in Washington, D.C.
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