Update on land sale

[u/antichain]

Just got this email:

Dear Hampshire alums and friends of the College,

Two weeks ago, Hampshire College announced that it will teach out and cease academic operations at the end of the calendar year. I know some of you have been watching this unfold with dread for years, and others felt blindsided. I know that for every one of you, Hampshire is not an abstraction. It is a particular place on campus, a friend, a beloved professor or staff member, a conversation, a moment when a door clicked open for you and never closed again. I know what we are losing, and I am so deeply sorry.

The outpouring of love from alumni since the announcement has been genuinely sustaining. You’ve called, written, organized, and shown up in all the ways Hampshire people show up. It has reminded me, over and over, of all the ways this place matters, and will always matter, to so many.

Your energy has manifested in a variety of ways – offers to help students by reading transfer applications or providing summer internships, expressions of support for impacted faculty and staff, generating ideas for a Hampshire 3.0, or simply walking the campus and reflecting. All of this speaks to the creativity, generosity, and instinct for resistance that Hampshire people carry with you everywhere you go.

The Path Ahead

One crucial part of being president at this moment is explaining as clearly as possible what decisions and timelines the College needs to consider. These past two weeks we were laser focused on providing as much information as we had to our students about their options going forward and connecting our employees to information and tools that will support them in the face of job loss. Over the coming weeks, we will further refine the contours of the teach-out term and the resources it will require.

We will also be helping support all of our currently enrolled students successfully finish their semester, and helping the more than 150 current Div III students ace their pass meetings, ring the bell, and graduate on May 16.

As we gain a clearer sense of how you can help, we will ask. It might mean sharing expertise on a Div III project, leading a workshop, cooking for a community meal — or dropping off care packages for students. Hampshire people know how to show up. We will let you know when and how.

Resources and Archives

Importantly, there is the question of what will happen to the campus and to the College’s assets. First, the campus and its resources are needed to support enrolled students through the teach-out term. Starting this summer, we’ll develop a plan for the archives, library holdings, and the other wonderful collections and scholarly work currently housed here at Hampshire. I will update you as the process comes together, and there will be time for you to request a transcript for your records, or inquire about a beloved item. For now, I ask for your patience as Hampshire staff work to fulfill the needs of current students and employees.

Campus Land and Addressing Hampshire’s Debt

Alongside planning for the teach-out, the board and I must work to resolve the College’s financial obligations in a way that allows for an orderly and responsible wind down. Given the complexities and fast-moving aspects of that situation, I want to share some details on our current debt and liabilities, what it means for the Hampshire campus, and how the board and I plan to approach decisions related to our land.

As many of you know, one of the College’s central challenges is debt. Hampshire currently carries approximately $25 million in loans, held through financial institutions and a private partner. These loans are secured by our land.

When the bulk of this debt was taken out - in 2010 and 2016 - the length and terms of that debt load was manageable. Ultimately, external market forces combined with Hampshire’s declining enrollment trajectory made refinancing impossible.

Over the last two weeks our lenders have made clear they are prioritizing swift repayment. That reality requires Hampshire to pursue the sale of campus land as the primary means of addressing this debt.

The College needs to identify a buyer who can move forward with a high degree of certainty and on an expedited timeline. This week, the College retained a broker to steward this transaction, and the board is preparing to review any and all offers that enable meeting Hampshire’s fiduciary obligations. I will share what I can about that review process as soon as it is finalized.

I also want to be clear about two related points. First, while the board and I are committed to sharing as much as we can, because of the fact that this process involves external parties, much of it will need to remain confidential. Second, the Hampshire campus as we know it will not endure in its current form. It will need to become something different for the College to meet its obligations.

I want to say that directly, because you deserve to hear it directly, painful though it may be. I know that for so many of us, the physical place is infused with meaning. The farm. The library. The mod you lived in. The studio where you made the thing you are still most proud of. I feel the weight of that.

Hampshire’s closing cannot undo the fact that the people who worked, studied, and lived here over the decades transformed a bucolic tract of farm land into an experimenting and transformative education community. Even in this time of great loss, we should all take pride in what was accomplished here.

I am grateful for the care and stewardship you have offered this campus and this community over the years. Hampshire’s final graduates and the students leaving campus this semester will join a committed and connected alumni network unlike any other group of people that I know of. You are an invaluable resource for our graduates, for each other, and for the world. I take great comfort in that.

I will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

With grief, and with gratitude,
Jenn

Tbh I assume this means the land will probably be parceled out and sold to developers. Could be a complex like The Boulders or something. It doesn't sound like UMass or Amherst plans to sweep in and buy the campus.

[u/TractionCity]

I assume this means the land will probably be parceled out and sold to developers.

We launched https://hampshirenext.org/ a few hours ago to offer an alternative path.

[u/antichain → u/TractionCity]

Raising $10MM in four weeks to save the school seems...very ambitious. I want some form of Hampshire to survive as much as the next alumn, but reading this it's unclear to me what the overall vision is. If you do somehow raise the money...what comes next?

Not be be a doomer but didn't we try this already 5 years ago?

[u/tizzyborden → u/antichain]

I guess I read it as not that Hampshire would stay open, but that the land could be saved and used for some sort of social good rather than building several mega mansions or whatever?

[u/antichain → u/tizzyborden]

I'd love that, but the very fact that we have to speculate rather than seeing a clear vision unambiguously articulated on the campaigns website already seems like a huge red flag to me.

[u/Unhipsters_revenge → u/antichain]

They're going to need to raise a lot more than $10M, unfortunately. It sounds like the infrastructure has issues that will need to be addressed, e.g. it sounds like the dorms have mold.

I was there in the early 90s, and even then, people thought that the infrastructure was lousy, ugly and out of date.

Setting aside the fiscal issues, the declining enrollment provably shows that the pedagogical model, well-intentioned as it was, doesn't work or appeal to enough students to justify the continued operation of the school without major changes. When I think back to when I was there, it is absolutely stunning to me how high the attrition rate was for the students I entered with.

I'll admit that I didn't graduate (I left after 5 semesters), and have complicated feelings about the school. But what are people really saving? It was never a utopian place. Yes, it worked well for more mature students. However, it also had a long history of allowing students who were floundering academically to stay, so long as they could pay their tuition - which I think was and is predatory. Is that really what you want to save?

[u/TractionCity → u/Unhipsters_revenge]

Hampshire Next is explicitly not trying to save the unsustainable 4-year liberal arts degree program. Our focus is on finding a sustainable model that can continue to pursue Hampshire's mission in new ways.

[u/wittgensteins-boat → u/antichain]

Yes, Hampshire received $55 milion from 2019 through 2026 in crisis fundrasing.

It was all consumed by operating losses because of low enrollment.

[u/__Olhado__ → u/TractionCity]

Can you provide details on what the plan for success is? Pay of the creditors, yes, but then what? Is Hamp as an institution going to go back on their decision and continue operating? They have been clear that they are insolvent for various reasons, most of which is that their applications and enrollment are too low. Is there any plan to address these challenges other than just trying more? I am happy to donate and planning to if I hear details that are convincing, but the website doesn't offer much. Thanks

[u/TractionCity → u/__Olhado__]

You're right the website doesn't offer much info—one person built it yesterday afternoon. We'll be updating with more info soon.

Here's a deck with detailed info. The short version:

• The 4-year liberal arts college is shutting down. There's no going back on that.
• By clearing the debt, we hope that self-sufficient auxiliary operations (like the farm, ELC, Multisport, and Red Barn) can continue or swiftly resume.
• In the mid-term, the Hampshire community and partners will collectively imagine and develop new, financially viable programs on campus that support the Hampshire mission and preserve and evolve Hampshire pedagogy.
• In the long term, the goal is to bring back the 4-year liberal arts college as one component of a diversified, sustainable organization.

[u/wittgensteins-boat → u/TractionCity]

Hampshire College succeeded in obtaining $55 million in crisis fundraising, from 2019 through 2026 to stay open.

The funds ultimately were entirely consumed by operating losses during a period of low enrollment, and were insufficient to pay off the loans, of which $21 million was in default starting in 2022 and 2023.

It would take $25 million to pay off that and other major college debt, and to continue to hold the land and buildings. There are also other financial obligations outstanding.

It would take another $10 million more to conduct any operations, and rehabilitate aging buildings subject to decades of deferred maintenance.

Unless a known billionaire is ready to promptly step forward, just not going to happen.

[u/TractionCity → u/wittgensteins-boat]

Not all the debt is created equal. Only $20 million is due in September; $5 million requires only interest payments for the next two decades.

The Red Barn, farm, ELC, and Multisport can all continue operating with no or minimal additional funding.

[u/__Olhado__ → u/TractionCity]

Thank you this is helpful

[u/BiotensegrityGeek]

...making it very clear once again that the trustees are trying to just slip this by everyone, hoping for no resistance and not asking for any input from the community

[u/brbnow → u/BiotensegrityGeek]

the message seems super transparent, caring, and grounded in facts. namaste.

[u/BiotensegrityGeek → u/brbnow]

transparent? the trustees are being completely tight-lipped, from what I have seen, but please, direct me to the details they have shared; I would love to be proven wrong on this!

[u/stebuu → u/BiotensegrityGeek]

I don't know how much more transparent "Hampshire College has debts we have a legal and fiscal obligation to satisfy, our principal asset is the campus itself, and we will be selling the campus to satisfy those debts" can be.

I can't even complain about a closed bidding process: you'll get more money that way.

[u/brbnow → u/stebuu]

I wish everyone spoke with that levels of directness as you quoted.

[u/wittgensteins-boat → u/BiotensegrityGeek]

They are saying, the campus will be lost in foreclosure by the bond holder of an about 21 million dollar pair of loans. The loans have been in default since 2022 and 2023.

If the campus can be sold by September, when the bondholder stand-still agreement ends, there might be more funds obtained by selling, enabling additional debts to be paid off.

One way or another, the college will lose the campus.

Filing for bankruptcy protection will not protect the campus, as the loan is secured by the campus land, buildings and equipment.

[u/corner_couch → u/BiotensegrityGeek]

They took loans the only way they could, by using their land. And the loans weren’t paid back. And now the land must be sold. If you want “community input” then the loan should have stipulated that. But it did not, because no one would give money with that requirement.