Via Inside Higher Ed (a great resource, by the way, for families as they peer over the precipice toward university life for their children), news that a small Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee is about to close its doors.
Lambuth University's president said Friday that the financially struggling private Methodist college's future will be decided next week as school officials continue to seek a buyer.
In a brief statement Friday afternoon, Lambuth President Bill Seymour said: "There's a higher risk of closure if a deal is not done by next Friday, but we are doing everything possible to get a deal in place and things will be decided next week in a (board of trustees) meeting."
Meanwhile, Jackson and community leaders said Friday they were preparing as best they could for Lambuth's future and praying the school survives.
School officials said Thursday there was no viable purchasing deal ready and that they would not be able to make payroll on time for May. Seymour said then that negotiations with potential management companies will continue and the school has until May 28 to cement a deal and submit it to the Southern Association of College and Schools, which accredits Lambuth.
Not knowing the details, OS hesitates to comment directly about it. But a few thoughts come to mind:
Some (probably many) institutions have a shelf-life, especially in the United States, where change is our only constant. As Lambuth is inspected one last time for signs of life, perhaps it's better to dispense with sentiment, and ask: Is this university necessary? Has its shelf-life expired? Is it doing anything uniquely valuable that isn't being better done by someone else in this part of the world?
Unless there is a compellingly good answer to that question, it's probably time to wind the institution down in an orderly fashion. Liquidate what will turn to cash, turn the archives over to worthy hands for safekeeping, distribute the parts of the library that can find a good home elsewhere, make sure the pensions of the oldest and most loyal employees (especially the custodial staff, groundskeepers, cooks, and the like) are safely in place, and walk away. Leave the buildings and grounds in saleable condition, and if there's any cash, use it to prevent physical deterioration.
Once everyone knows the patient indeed is dead, some clever soul or souls can look at it with fresh eyes, and think of a worthy use for it. It's happened before, and will again, if allowed to happen.
Secondly, it's a good time ask: What are the common traits of the institutions that haven't gone extinct, like Harvard, Yale, Duke, Princeton?
How did they do that? How do they re-invent themselves while remaining deeply connected with a strong tradition?
More importantly, how do we do that, here in our more humble circumstances?
No comments:
Post a Comment