As higher education institutions navigate an uncertain future marked by enrollment declines and shifting market demands, institutional leaders must consider an array of strategies to ensure their institutions remain responsive and financially sustainable. Within this context, one strategy that has received more attention is mergers and acquisitions. This approach may offer a possible pathway for some institutions, but questions regarding its efficacy remain, as this complex process requires significant financial investment and has broad implications for an array of stakeholders. While research on this phenomenon continues to grow, there is still much to learn. As institutions consider mergers and acquisitions more intently, there is a need to understand the merger-integration process better. Mergers represent one of the most challenging change efforts leaders may face as teams work to harmonize systems, align resources, and—most important—help a broad range of stakeholders make sense of the disruption that comes with this change. This study explores merger integration, focusing on how leaders prioritize goals and objectives and manage the change process while striving to honor the legacy and cultural complexity of each institution. Using a qualitative research approach and case methodology, this study explores three recent merger cases between 2018 and 2021. Data collected through interviews with leaders at various organizational levels provided insight and learning to understand better the practices and strategies employed during this process. The findings suggest that in pursuing this strategy, leaders must be prepared to manage the complexity of the integration and change process that follows the merger decision. The importance of change leadership, trust building, transparent communications, and building a strong strategic vision for the future emerged as essential and effective change-management strategies that helped teams move forward in this process. The learnings derived from this study offer important insights into the decision-making process. This study also provides critical approaches to integration that have the potential to inform future practice for leaders as they consider this strategy or prepare teams to engage in this endeavor.