AMHERST — A working group of influential members of the Hampshire College community has released its first update, calling the college’s financial state “extremely worrisome.”
The President’s Options Working Group is tasked with serving as an independent sounding board for Hampshire’s board of trustees as officials continue to search for a path to financial sustainability for the struggling college. The group includes filmmaker Ken Burns, the co-founder of the organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, Gary Hirshberg, and others from the business and education worlds.
After meeting for the first time on Thursday, the group released a letter to the Hampshire community Tuesday, outlining the work it has done and what lies ahead.
“We need to report that we are deeply sobered by the school’s fiscal state which we can only describe as extremely worrisome and warranting more than ever a thoughtful, well-developed approach to mitigating the challenges facing the College,” the letter reads.
Members of the group wrote that they have gained a “high level of understanding of possible solutions” that the college is considering, but that the college did not share the names of potential strategic partners. They added that they will evaluate all viable solutions that have been proposed, including a plan developed by the Re-envisioning Hampshire Coalition that would see Hampshire remain independent.
“However, we want the broader Hampshire community to understand that the situation is serious and time is not on the College’s side,” the members wrote. “And, because some of the options involve engaging with other institutions who need to remain anonymous for reasons of their own, we cannot be 100 percent transparent about them yet. We expect that situation to change in the weeks ahead.”
The working group’s letter goes on to say that, though “moved” by the Hampshire community’s activism, the working group members believe that some do not have “full visibility or appreciation of all of the financial realities.”
“We believe a workable solution to Hampshire’s current state is only possible if we all — alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and of course the current students — recognize that now is the time to lift ourselves above the rumors, attacks, and speculation and stand together while we constructively and methodically review options,” the letter reads.
Though many now agree that Hampshire is facing real financial difficulty, how the college got there is a source of dispute.
Salman Hameed, an associate professor and member of the Re-envisioning Hampshire Coalition, told the Gazette that while the working group’s statements on the college’s financial situation may be accurate, that situation wasn’t inevitable.
“I think we all agree that today Hampshire is in serious financial trouble, but I think that statement would have bee incorrect on January 15,” he said, adding that nearly 90 percent of Hampshire’s revenue comes from tuition. “Our current financial existential threat has to do with the college’s decision not to admit the fall 2019 class.”
As for the working group itself, Hameed said he trusts their judgment and expertise, though he wonders whether they’ve been brought in too late.
“The people who are in there are terrific,” he said. “I hope that it is not just a show committee.”
The working group’s letter ends by saying the group will review “all serious ideas, options, or proposals that are thoughtful, thorough, and financially realistic.”
“We urge you to send such proposals to the President’s office too,” the letter says. “All will be carefully reviewed and considered by our group, the on-campus options committee, and the Board of Trustees.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.