It’s a done deal. UMass Amherst has closed on its controversial real estate purchase of Mount Ida College, which abruptly shut down this month.
In a letter sent to the Legislature Thursday, UMass President Marty Meehan and UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy announced the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the transaction, which, they say, aligns with UMass Amherst’s strategic plan.
UMass Amherst says it will use the new 74-acre location in Newton to give already-admitted students a place to live while they do internships and career-oriented jobs closer to Boston.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office set the fair market value of the land at $75 million and said the deal would not require court approval. Healey’s office is investigating whether Mount Ida’s senior administrators and the Board of Trustees fulfilled their financial and educational responsibilities.
The real estate deal has faced harsh skepticism from lawmakers and faculty at UMass Boston who worry the UMass Amherst satellite campus will siphon away students. On Monday, UMass Boston faculty voted no confidence in Meehan.
The closure comes a day after Mount Ida's board of trustees defended its decision to shut down and sell the struggling school’s assets to UMass Amherst.
Speaking before a Senate oversight committee, Mount Ida Board of Trustees Chairwoman Carmin Reiss dismissed charges that the school deceived students. Reiss said Mount Ida’s leaders had a solid plan to survive, so they did not openly disclose financial challenges to prospective students.
“There are many small colleges that have difficult financial situations, and none of them is putting a banner on their website that says, ‘Watch out, we are on the edge,’” Reiss said.
The oversight committee is considering issuing a subpoena for Mount Ida president Barry Brown who was invited to testify but did not appear.
Mount Ida students and faculty testified that they had no indication the school might close.
Junior John Driscoll said he was stunned and he is still trying to figure out what he will do next.
“I picked my college. It was Mount Ida. I went to college and now I have to do this all over again,” Driscoll said.
Mount Ida students will automatically be admitted to UMass Dartmouth if they choose, but Driscoll says its inconvenient and he is unsure if the school is a good fit for him.
Students in Mount Ida's dental hygiene program could complete their coursework at Regis College and veterinary technology students could continue their studies at UMass Amherst. Both transition plans need regulatory approval.
In his testimony before the Senate committee, Meehan reassured lawmakers that UMass Amherst’s purchase of Mount Ida won’t cost taxpayers. He also said he expects the UMass system to be a future player in the acquisition of small colleges and predicted scores of schools in New England will shut down or merge as the number of high school graduates declines.
“Disruption is coming to higher education and we’re on the cutting edge of finding out what UMass’s role will be in it,” Meehan said. “New England will lose between 32,000 to 54,000 college students by 2032 – more than 15 percent of the population. This is a significant concern for private colleges with small endowments.”
Meehan did not say which small, faltering private colleges UMass may be eyeing.
