College Closure Impacts Small Towns Where They Are Located

PBS News Hour in cooperation with The Hechinger Report posted, "When small colleges close, their hometowns feel the pain." 

Reporter Elizabeth Hewitt primarily focused on Goddard College and Plainfield, VT and interviewed a number of local business owners commenting on the key role of the institution in the local economy.  Hewitt also includes comments by people impacted by recent closures of St. Catharine College in Springfield, KY and St. Jospeph's College in Rensselaer, IN.

Detroit's Cradle-to-College Initiative

Crain's Detroit Business published "Kresge puts $50 million behind Marygrove 'cradle-to-college' center," with reporting on a major effort to set up a "cradle-to-college" / P-20 center on the campus of Marygrove College.  The groundbreaking initiative brings together collaborating organizations, including the UM School of Education, Detroit Public Schools Community District, the Marygrove Conservancy and Marygrove College, Starfish Family Services, IFF and the Detroit Collaborative Design Center of the University of Detroit Mercy. 

Kresge and the various partners are working with neighborhoods surrounding the Marygrove campus to make a long term impact through economic development and educational attainment.

A Small College Garden post on February 16, 2018, Two Detroit Publications Provide Excellent Reporting on Changes at Marygrove College, provides information on Margrove's decision to end undergraduate programs and restructure its mission as a graduate-only institution.

Another post on the College Towns & University Cities blog on February 15, 2018, "The University of Detroit Mercy: Working with Neighbors to Enhance Quality of Life," provides information on the University of Detroit Mercy's commitment to its local neighborhoods.

Flagler College Releases Results of Economic Impact Study

Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida released results of economic impact study quantifying the ways in which the institution contributes to economic activity of northeastern Florida.  You can visit the Community Impact page on the Flagler website for graphics summarizing the study findings and links to several .pdfs for an executive summary or the survey methodology.

Flagler College was founded in 1968 and occupies a property that was initially built as the Hotel Ponce de Leon.  The college currently enrolls more than 2,500 students.

Unity College Acquires Historic Hunting Lodge

Emily Higginbotham, staff writer for CentralMaine.com posted an article, "The sky's the limit as Unity College takes the reins at Sky Lodge," reporting on Unity's acquisition of an historic lodge in the northern part of the state, in Moose River, roughly two hours from Unity's campus in Unity, Maine.  Higginbotham interviewed Melik Peter Khoury, the college’s president, Erika Latty, the chief academic officer, and several faculty members on opportunities and how the 16-building facility can act as a campus-away-from-campus just 15 miles from the Canadian border.

You can read more on Unity's website about the acquisition, "HistoricSky Lodge Donated to Unity College: Facility and more than 150 acres added togrowing portfolio of college locations."

Report Focuses on Impact of CCCU Institutions

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) released a new report, "Building The Common Good," focusing on the impact of the member institutions.  You can visit the CCCU website to access .pdfs of a one page infographic, an executive summary, or the entire report.

Trevor Sikorski of Multnomah University in Portland, OR summarized the findings in a post, "New report highlights the economic impact of CCCU institutions," published on the university's website:

• These institutions’ 445,000 students, 72,000 faculty and staff, and 3.5 million alumni produce $60 billion in positive economic impact each year.
• The economic activity of these institutions and their constituents creates $9.7 billion in federal tax revenue and 340,000 jobs for the economy.
• For every dollar the federal government gives to CCCU institutions, the federal government receives $20 in tax revenue.
• Also, for every dollar of federal grant money that a CCCU student receives, institutions provide $5 in additional financial aid.
• Finally, students from CCCU institutions have a desire to positively influence society. CCCU students are three times as likely to take a job in the human services compared to those from all four-year institutions, and despite the fact that these jobs tend to be less profitable, CCCU students have the highest loan repayment rates and the lowest loan default rates of all four-year students.

Small Colleges and Boutique Hotels

Several small colleges are mentioned in an interesting post written by Laura Powell, "Luxury Boutique Hotels Become Part of the College Experience," published on the Skift website in early December 2017.  Powell interviewed college administrators and representatives of The Olympia Companies that have developed are operating hotel properties for Oberlin, Swarthmore, and Rollins College.

The Alfond Inn in Winterpark, Florida is owned by Rollins College and is the largest of the featured hotels with 112 rooms.  Powell indicates the property is exceeding expectations with an occupancy rate of 90% and estimated $50 million in annual revenue.  She also notes that any net profits are used for scholarships.

The Hotel at Oberlin with 70 rooms was developed by Smart Hotels of Shaker Heights, OH,  It has been open just over a year and meets U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum requirements by incorporating solar, geothermal, and radiant heating and cooling.  

The Inn at Swarthmore opened in May 2016 and is the smallest of the three with 40 rooms.  

Powell also briefly mentions Colby College is finishing a boutique hotel as part of a broader downtown redevelopment effort in Waterville, Maine.  You can read more details in an article, "Colby College picks Portland firm to build boutique hotel in Waterville," on the Portland Press Herald website with reporting by Amy Calder.

The Williams Inn at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts offers 116 rooms.  The property was initially built in 1974 and was acquired by the college in 2014.

Please leave a comment below if you know of other small colleges that are developing and operating hotels on their campuses or in the communities they serve.

College for Creative Studies is Featured

Linkedin posted an interesting article by Jeff Selingo on February 10, 2018, "The pipeline from school to career is broken. An idea from Detroit might be one way to fix it."  Selingo focuses on Detroit's College for Creative Studies and their co-location in the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education with the Henry Ford Academy and Shinola, a firm specializing in watchmaking and leather-goods.

Selingo visited the site to interview students, along with representatives and the college and Shinola.  He concludes, "The experiment in Detroit also offers a potential solution to the “skills gap” that the U.S. and many other countries are facing as employers complain they can’t find workers with the right set of skills. With a company and a college located in the same building, college officials can quickly discover how to build on their strengths and alter programs to produce graduates with skills that better meet the needs of the workforce."

The College for Creative Studies traces its roots to the founding of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts in 1906.  A four-year art program began in 1926 and what was know as the Art School became the College of Art and Design in 1962.  The name was changed to the Center for Creative Studies-College of Art and Design in 1975 and the current name was adopted in 2001.

The college began redevelopment of the760,000 sq. ft. historic Argonaut Building, formerly General Motors’ firstresearch and design studio, in 2008.  Now known as the Taubman Center, it is located in Detroit’s New Center district.  The center is home to the college’s six undergraduate design departments, graduate degree programs in color and materials design, integrated design, interaction design and transportation design.  The Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies is an art and design charter school for middle and high school students. 

Two Detroit Publications Provide Excellent Reporting on Changes at Marygrove College

Nancy Kaffer and the Detroit Free Press offer an excellent in-depth look at Marygrove College and the neighborhoods it serves in northwest Detroit, "Marygrove Collegefinds new life as graduate-only institution: What's next for Marygrove College, the nuns who founded it, the foundation that's supporting it, and theneighborhoods around it?"

Marygrove has experienced a steady decline over the years and previous efforts designed to improve institutional fortunes were not successful.  Kaffer's reporting provides details of how the possibility of closure has been pushed aside and the Kresge Foundation stepped in to help fund significant changes.

Crain's Detroit Business posted, "Struggling Marygrove College to transfer campus to new nonprofit."  Reporter Sherri Welch also offers details of changes with more emphasis on the transfer of Marygrove's campus 53 acre campus to a nonprofit Marygrove Conservancy. 

Complex Town-Gown Relationship between Colby College and Waterville, Maine

Down East: The Magazine of Maine published an interesting article focusing on the role Colby College is playing in the revitalization of Waterville, Maine.  

In "A century ago, Waterville helped bail out a struggling Colby College. Can Colby return the favor?" reporter Jesse Ellison begins by noting Colby's decision to build a dorm some distance from campus in downtown Waterville.  Ellison then explores the complex relationship between the college and the town that has evolved over many decades.

Colby and Waterville were also featured Boston Globe article from February 2016, "Maine city teams with Colby to revitalize a college town."

Small Colleges take a more Active Role in Communities they Serve

Governing is featuring a post by Aaron M. Renn, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, offering comments on a trend where small colleges are taking a more active role in the communities where they reside.  Renn's article, "Can a Small College Save Its Small Town?" includes references to Franklin College in Indiana and to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Douglas Belkin that focused on a number of initiatives at Albion College in Michigan, Ripon College in Wisconsin, and several other small colleges.

Small Colleges are Thinking Strategically about Community Relationships

I enjoyed reading Douglas Belkin's article, "To Save Themselves, Small Colleges Offer Lifeline to Their Hometown," last week in the Wall Street Journal.  Belkin focuses his reporting on several small colleges that are thinking strategically about relationships with their respective communities.  He included references to Albion College, Monmouth College, Ripon College, Niagra University, and Emory and Henry College.

You can also read, "Ripon College Recognized for Renovation of Downtown Building," that was posted on the Small College Garden in September 2015.  In addition, the College Towns & University Cities blog includes posts featuring institutions working with their communities.

Food System Center promises big changes for Northland College and its broader community

Northland College announced a fascinating project where they are building a Food Systems Center that will take in shipments of local fruits and vegetables; freeze, dry, and can these products; and store them for off-season use. The facility will provide the capacity for the institution to locally source food for the campus....and, it will also serve as lab for students and as a resource for people from the broader community.  Northland College is located in Ashland, WI.

Unity College: Positive Impact on Maine's Economy

The Writing Maine blog offers an interesting post, "Unity College helping reverse Maine's 'brain drain'" that expands on an August 19, 2016 news release from the institution.   The post notes that enrollment this fall will likely reach 700 students, setting a record for the third year in a row, and Unity intends to use this achievement as a springboard for honoring their alumni throughout the year.

Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, Unity's president, provides an overview of how the institution is positioning itself to serve as a model for preparing students to meet environmental and social challenges.  A link is also provided to a YouTube video with comments from earlier this year by Dr. Khoury explaining the important role of partnerships. 

You can also visit the Unity College website to see the initial news release or find out more information about the institution.