Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warns small liberal arts colleges across Western New York and the country could face the same fate as Medaille University which announced plans this week to permanently close.
“We do not have as many college-age students as we did in the past and when you don’t have as many college-age students as you did in the past and you have the same number of institutions, or are growing, or are trying to grow, there is a smaller piece of the pie for everyone,” Poloncarz told 2 On Your Side.
“That, I think, is the problem with Medaille. They were dealing with the enrollment issues just like others,” he added.
Medaille University announced Monday that the school would close at the end of the current semester after failing to reach a deal to be acquired by Trocaire College.
Medaille University Interim President Dr. Lori V. Quigley issued a statement saying, “Medaille has been under significant budgetary constraints over the last several months due to several factors, including declining enrollment, outstanding liabilities, and other challenges that are affecting colleges and universities across the region, state, and nation.”
'Seeing colleges close across the country'
Poloncarz says, “There are other colleges that I am aware of in our community that are dealing with difficult times, especially the smaller liberal arts colleges you are seeing colleges close across the country."
The Wall Street Journal reported last year that number of colleges closing over the past decade quadrupled compared with the previous decade. And, The nonprofit Hechinger Report, which covers education issues, covered the closure of Holy Names University in California and Cazenovia College in New York earlier this year. “They will join the list of 35 colleges that closed their only or final campus in 2021, and 48 more in 2022, according to an analysis of federal data by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.”
"I hope Medaille is the last,” Poloncarz said. He wished Medaille students and faculty the best, hoping they find other institutions to complete their studies and continue their careers.
But, Poloncarz warned, “It would not surprise me to see additional closures in the next few years across the country but hopefully not here, but if it did happen, it would not shock me. "