Issues of strategy and statesmanship that characterize the period prior to a decision for a college merger are addressed. Attention is directed to models of private college merger, based on patterns used in the 1970s, and innovations sponsored by foundations in the early 1980s. Factors that increase the chance of a voluntary merger taking place are also identified. A recent attempt to merge the University of Bridgeport and the University of New Haven is described, with details of the period of planning prior to a board decision regarding merger, as well as comparisons to strategies used at other colleges. Emphasis is on choices of the early period that can contribute to a new institution but not harm the existing ones should merger not occur. Annotated case materials are included to illustrate the full range of concerns when studying the possibility of a college merger. These materials, which have been duplicated from file originals, provide a step-by-step documentation of the feasibility study; they also show the speed and inaccuracy of working papers. Specifically, the documents and study commission reports concern: establishing the merger study commission, institutional data, financial analysis, enrollment projections, and legal analysis. Appendices identify 20 private college merger attempts, 10 of which resulted in merger and 10 of which did not. A 58-item bibliography concludes the document. (SW)