When a Campus Closes, Lives Are Upended
When colleges close, headlines focus on finances and institutional decisions. But for the people who study and work there, the consequences are immediate and personal.
Students must scramble to transfer schools, often losing credits or scholarships. Faculty and staff suddenly face unemployment in a shrinking academic job market. Long-standing communities built around campuses begin to dissolve.
This chapter highlights the voices of those directly affected by college closures.
Through interviews with students and faculty from the College of Saint Rose, Goddard College, Siena Heights University, and Lourdes University, we explore the emotional and practical challenges that follow a closure announcement.
Their stories reveal the uncertainty, frustration, and loss that numbers and financial reports cannot capture.
Shock and Uncertainty, Financial and Academic Disruption, Loss of Community, and Career Instability.
An abandoned building on Goddard College’s campus sits exposed to the elements.
Michael C Billingsley
Michael has been involved with Goddard College since the early 1970s as a student, Media Arts instructor, and longtime supporter.
As Plainfield’s Emergency Management Director, he has worked with both the college’s final employees and its new ownership, bringing decades of firsthand experience with the institution.
Chloe Laven
Chloe Laven began her academic journey at Syracuse University, where she completed her undergraduate studies. She later enrolled in a graduate program at The College of Saint Rose, drawn to its small, close-knit community. During her first year in the program, the college announced its closure, prompting her to transfer and continue her studies at UMass Amherst.
Adam Meyer
Adam was part of Goddard College’s final graduating class and played an active role during its closure. He served on the board of Remake Goddard and continues to help shape its future.
He is a key leader in The Goddard Spark, a new learning initiative on the former campus focused on accessible, student-centered education.