AMHERST — A limited liability corporation with a Boston address provided a $29.5 million loan to keep Hampshire College solvent for its summer and fall teach-out, according to documents filed with the Hampshire Registry of Deeds.
The paperwork, posted online, shows that on July 29 College President Jennifer Chrisler and John Dineen, the college treasurer, signed the loan provided by Artocarpus Partners, LLC.
That came after trustees in early June reached an agreement in principle on the loan, which gave the board sufficient financial confidence to continue operations, according to a letter sent to the community from Chrisler.
“I am pleased to share that Hampshire College has reached agreement in principle with a philanthropic partner to provide a loan that will support the wind down of campus operations and supplies time and resources for the college to strategically plan for land sales that maximally meet our financial obligations, and to consider legacy and mission throughout that process,” Chrisler wrote at the time.
Since then, the so-called teach-out has progressed steadily, allowing students to finish their Division III requirements and advance through their Division I and Division II pathways toward a final graduation in December.
Little information about Artocarpus is available, though it is managed by Jesse Johnson and was formed July 23, according to what is on file with the Secretary of State’s office.
Artocarpus is also known as the breadfruit, a tree featured in the Hampshire College seal. The seal also contains the motto Non Satis Scire, which means “to know is not enough.”
Meanwhile, the college has made no announcements on the sale of nearly 800 acres land it owns in Amherst and Hadley to pay back what is owed to financial institutions and other lenders.
Three proposals have been made public by those making them, one from a group calling itself Hampshire Next, another from a Maryland-based philosopher and the third for the open space coming from The Trustees of Reservations and Kestrel Land Trust.
Earlier this month, Hampshire Next announced that it had raised $2 million in pledges from 1,400 donors as part of its effort to create an educational village at the campus after it closes at the end of the year.
Made up of alumni, staff, faculty, parents, students and community members, Hampshire Next’s mission is “to cultivate the evolution of Hampshire College’s radical commitment to self-directed learning, critical inquiry, and civic responsibility while amplifying its transformative impact on individuals, communities, education and the world.”
Through the financial commitment shown so far, Hampshire Next can have conversations with developers, conservation groups and others and be a participant in discussions on the future of the college.
A conservation groups are jointly proposing a vision to preserve the rural landscape of the campus, while leaving the core academic portion of the South Amherst site intact.
The proposal by the Trustees of Reservations and Kestrel Land Trust calls for permanent protection of intact forests, fields and wildlife habitats, as well as farmland as the foundation of the Hampshire College Farm agricultural operation, and to support environmental education and the Red Barn as a community gathering space.
The proposal references the “vital and irreplaceable” rural landscape surrounding the college’s core campus in Amherst and Hadley, with its support of biodiversity and local agriculture, strengthening of climate resilience, and providing meaningful access to nature for surrounding communities.
This shared conservation vision would not impact the future development of the college campus core, which the land trusts estimate that these areas cover only about 25% of the college’s acreage.
A third proposal comes from an organization headed by Jerome Segal of Maryland that would recharter the campus as the Woolman University for Peace, Plain Living, and Conflict Resolution Training.
The proposal would establish a Quaker-style university that would offer what he calls the Plain Living Labor Ethos. This would include five to 10 hours of weekly student-faculty volunteer operational labor; the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Visa Card, where 50,000 global peace donors generate revenue to clear the operational deficit; and Camp David North, a premier, self-sustaining international diplomatic hub and an engaged conflict resolution facility which will be the locus for dialogue between combatants.
Segal also claims this will use the Swarthmore Track, a dual-track academic system partnering with Swarthmore College that would duplicate its elite, graded curriculum, though the college says it has no agreement with him.
