A 180-year-old private South Carolina university is closing after a $6M fundraising drive fails
Limestone University officials said that after two weeks of furious fundraising and other actions, they collected just a little over $2 million and had no choice but to close its Gaffney campus and online programs.
The school had lost about half its enrollment in the past decade.
'Our Limestone spirit will endure through the lives of our students and alumni who carry it forward into the world,' said Randall Richardson, chair of Limestone University's trustees. 'Though our doors may close, the impact of Limestone University will live on.'
The university stunned its students, alums and community when it announced earlier in April without warning that it was in such bad financial shape that without an immediate infusion of $6 million it would have to close.
More than 200 people gave a total of about $2.1 million, but it was not enough. The university said the donations will be returned.
South Carolina lawmakers decided not to step in because Limestone University is a private institution.
Dozens of private colleges and universities like Limestone have closed in recent years. They are coping with steep declines in enrollment, a consequence of both changing demographics and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Limestone University's online and in-person enrollment had dropped from about 3,200 students in 2014 to about 1,600, according to state higher education data. Limestone University promised to help students transfer to other schools.
The closure will also leave several hundred professors and support staff without jobs in Gaffney, a city of about 12,500 people on Interstate 85 between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.
About 50 students gathered outside where trustees met Tuesday night and hugged as they got the email announcing the university was closing.
Daniel Deneen Jr. of Myrtle Beach played football for Limestone and was jarred that he had to change his plans for his education.
'When we found out the school had $30 million in debt, we all wondered how they were going to get out of it. The last two weeks have been very stressful with finals coming up this week,' Deneen told The Post and Courier.
Limestone isn't the only college in the region to announce it is closing this month.
St. Andrews University about 150 miles away in Laurinburg, North Carolina, will close Sunday after the spring semester. The school is a branch campus of Webber International University.
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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
More young people going into farming, but it's still few of them
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'I kind of got into helping him do all that,' Boone said, although his full-time job is as a collision repair technician, working on auto bodies. With a small hobby farm like his, 'you probably put in more than you get out,' Boone said. Along the way, he has learned a lot about farming. 'One of the first lambs we had, it got out and we chased it for over an hour. We chased that lamb for miles,' he said. Raising goats has been an adventure, too. 'They will climb on everything. They will eat everything,' including flowers in the garden, Boone said. Part of specialty crop production, Davis said, is being an entrepreneur and gauging what the market is. 'Some of those operations also get into a little agritourism,' like an apple orchard, Davis said, with a focus on fall tourism. 'Frankly, I think it was kind of a donut stand. That was the most popular part of the farm experience.' For the traditional corn-and-soybeans farmer, getting into the business has some barriers for a young person. 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The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
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