New York's College of Saint Rose will close in May 2024 amid financial woes
NEW YORK — The College of Saint Rose, a century-old Roman Catholic college in Albany, New York, will close in May 2024 after years of financial struggles, college officials announced Friday.
“It is with a heavy heart that the board has decided to close the college at the end of this academic year,” said Jeffrey D. Stone, chairman of the college's board of trustees, who voted Thursday to close the college school, in a statement. . “The Board has determined that the Board does not have the financial resources to function for the entire 2024-2025 academic year and therefore cannot remain a stand-alone institution.”
Stone added: “We are devastated that despite all our efforts we could not prevent the closure. Our goal now is to ease the transition for our students, faculty and staff.”
The college will help students graduate in May or continue their studies elsewhere, officials said, and the human resources department will help faculty, administrators and staff find jobs.
The College of Saint Rose was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969.
The school has offered a range of liberal arts programs and specializes in training teachers, with bachelor's and master's degrees in areas such as early childhood education, educational leadership and school psychology.
Notable alumni include “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, who also served as commencement speaker in 2009.
The university's closure announcement came the same day the women's soccer team failed to advance in the NCAA Division II East regional final in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The team tied Adelphi at 1-1 and then lost a penalty shootout to determine which team would reach the national quarterfinals.
Like many liberal arts colleges, Saint Rose has struggled to maintain enrollment and balance its books in recent years, and its woes have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The college has about 2,600 current students, up from 4,000 in 2019, the last year before the pandemic hit. Saint Rose cut more than a dozen academic programs in 2021 to save money but failed to reach solvency.
College President Marcia White said in addition to cutting academic programs, the college also laid off staff, reduced salaries and pension contributions, sold non-essential buildings and refinanced debt.
These efforts could not offset the ongoing shortage, White told the campus community during a meeting Friday. She said the projected operating cash deficit for this year is $11.3 million.
“We would like to express our condolences and concerns to the students, faculty, staff and alumni of The College of Saint Rose. We all hoped this day would not come,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy said in a statement after the decision to close the school was reported Thursday:
Sheehan and McCoy said they would work with university officials, developers and government leaders to “reimagine” the university's 46-acre campus in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Albany, New York's state capital.
Havidán Rodríguez, president of the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York public system, said the news “reminds us of the tenuous situation for many higher education institutions across the country following the impacts of COVID-19 19 and the demographic shifts we are facing, especially in our region.”