Letter: A Formal $21M Asset-Backed Refinancing Offer and Binding Restructuring Conditions for Hampshire College

The following letter was sent to the Executive Committee of the Hampshire College Board of Trusees and to the Hampshire College President on May 27, 2026.

I am writing on behalf of our newly incorporated Hampshire Institute for Peace, Plain Living, and Conflict Resolution Training (HIP) to submit a definitive, structured alternative to reverse the planned closure of Hampshire College. We are prepared to initiate an immediate $21,000,000 refinancing swap to completely buy out, retire, and satisfy all outstanding legacy bondholder liabilities and defaults before the upcoming September deadlines.

We recognize that under current operations, Hampshire College is burdened by a structural $3.7 million operating deficit, rendering the current administration un-loanable under standard credit metrics. Our framework solves this credit barrier by shifting to a Master Teacher Model, which focuses resources strictly on direct classroom instruction rather than high-overhead research production. This model slashes $4.21 million in annual operating costs, instantly transforming the institutional balance sheet from a deficit to a structural surplus capable of comfortable debt service.

In addition, I am attaching draft legislation that would enact “The Saving America’s Small Liberal Arts Colleges Act of 2026” which would transform the admissions calculus, and on its own, eliminate Hampshire structural deficit by generating the needed bump in student enrollment.

With a clean credit footprint and a solid prospects of balanced operational budget, our entity will secure a fresh commercial mortgage facility. Based on a conservative, institutional appraisal of Hampshire’s 800+ acres and physical plant at $34,000,000, this new $21 million loan sits at a safe and routine 61.76% Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio. This transaction requires zero cash down payment because the existing $13 million in unencumbered land equity fully underwrites the risk for our commercial lending partners.

Because this proposal provides a full exit from your outstanding bondholder liabilities, the Board has a clear fiduciary duty to evaluate it. This financial injection is strictly contingent upon the current Board executing a binding Letter of Intent within seven (7) business days, agreeing to the following non-negotiable legal and structural conditions:

• Condition 1: Letter of Exclusive Designation: The Board must immediately issue a formal letter naming our Institute as the Exclusive Preferred Partner for institutional rescue. We are the only bidder committed to preserving the educational charter intact. We require this exclusivity to freeze competing liquidation proposals while our banking syndicate finalizes the loan underwriting.
• Condition 2: Immediate Board Reconstitution: The current Board must agree to amend the institutional bylaws to create a new class of governance. Upon execution of the $21 million refinancing facility, 51% of the voting seats on the Board of Trustees must be permanently transferred to designees chosen by our Institute to oversee the academic pivot.
• Condition 3: Unencumbered Asset Transfer: All physical campus real estate—specifically the 800+ contiguous acres of fields, orchards, and facilities—must be transferred free and clear of legacy liabilities to the joint Hampshire-Woolman educational charter, permanently blocking any commercial developer land sales.
• Condition 4: Immediate Operational Standstill: The current administration must execute an immediate cease-and-desist on all closure mechanics. This requires a 60-day operational standstill, freezing all active real estate parcel marketing, halting scheduled faculty and staff layoffs, and pausing the regional “teach-out” student transfer protocols.
• Condition 5: Joint Regulatory Appeal: The current Board must co-sign a formal, emergency petition to the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) requesting an expedited administrative hearing. This appeal will present the $21 million asset-backed refinancing facility as verified proof of renewed financial viability to secure a two-year operational probation window, within the context of either or both, the Master Teacher plan and the new tax legislation.

To allow our team to place the formal Proof of Intent to Refinance underwriting documentation into a third-party escrow account, you must acknowledge receipt of this offer and agree to open immediate restructuring negotiations. We look forward to your prompt response to prevent the irreversible fragmentation of this historic educational laboratory.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jerome M. Segal, President
The  Hampshire Institute 
301-675-3260
Jerome@jeromesegal.org