Sadness and Good Fellowship Mark All-campus Meeting on Hampshire’s Closing

At noon on Tuesday, April 14, Hampshire College convened a meeting of its students, faculty and staff at the biggest indoor space on campus, the Robert Crown Center. President Jennifer Chrisler and a group of trustees were there to say why they decided to close the college and what would happen next.

Trustees Chair Jose Fuentes began by saying that, as a central American immigrant, Hampshire College has made all the difference in his life. He said the decision to close, as difficult as it was, was the only one that could be made.

President Chrisler elaborated.  She explained that the critical challenges the college now faces include two banks calling for the repayment of their loans, a disappointing failure to complete the sale of a piece of property, the shortfall in new student admissions last year that appears about to be repeated this year, and the tendency of some in the public media to emphasize Hampshire’s problems rather than its achievements which has contributed to the student shortfall.  She went on to speak of the challenges that a young college always faces — and at 55 years, Hampshire is still a young college with young alumni. She spoke of its success in developing student-generated curricula, the academic innovations that have improved higher eduction throughout the country, and the many successes that Hampshire alums have achieved. 

She said that for students nearing the end of their college career, Hampshire would be working with them until the actual closure at December 31 to help them complete their degree requirements and graduate.  For younger students, there will be a “teachout” plan where eight colleges will be coming to campus in the next week to meet with them and discuss their transfer opportunities. And for students who have already completed their requirements, the graduation scheduled for May 16 will proceed as planned.

President Chrisler promised that from now until December 31 she will be available on campus, and not just in her office. She intends to answer every question with its answer if she knows it; admit it if she does not know the answer; and if it involves confidential information that she is not able to disclose, she would admit that.

The meeting was short, less than 30 minutes, because all were then invited to go to Franklin Patterson Hall and gather in half a dozen classrooms where there could be back and forth conversations in small groups with trustees and administrators.

The overall attitude of the hundreds there was a combination of sadness tempered with good fellowship, and with pride in having been a part of the extraordinary Hampshire College experience.

Here is what one alum has written about today’s announcement:  “I am not overwhelmed by the notion of the college’s disappearance today. I feel nothing but gratitude for having had the opportunity to attend Hampshire College. I know hundreds if not thousands of other alumni share my sentiment.”