Amherst, Mass. — The Amherst student community was recently shaken by the decision to permanently close Hampshire College.
The liberal arts school has experienced severe financial strain due to a lack of resources since before the pandemic, and has not been able to keep up all of its critical operations and responsibilities.
According to an announcement from President Jennifer Chrisler, Hampshire will shutter following the fall 2026 semester.
Where do they go now?
In 2019, the Pioneer Valley college launched a five-year financial sustainability plan, meant to stabilize the institution. The project ultimately failed, however, due to a combination of factors, including but not limited to declining enrollments and extensive debt.
Even with the writing on the wall, some high school and transfer students still planned on matriculating to Hampshire in September. According to the school, though, they’re no longer able to enroll there next fall. For some, the news was crushing.
One of these young people is Will Kiesel, a student from Middlesex Community College who committed to enrolling at Hampshire. Now, with news that the school is closing, he will have to scramble.
“Everyone there is studying something unique and interesting and important. I didn’t find that in any other colleges I toured,” Kiesel said. He added that he feels “blindsided” by the announcement, “especially given the timing late in the admissions cycle.”
Kiesel is among innumerable students who admired Hampshire’s notably unconventional approach to higher ed. It’s a place where students have typically had more control of their course plan and had the freedom to study creative subjects outside of traditional majors and courses.
“I really thought the school was going to be okay,” Kiesel said, noting that he was aware of the financial and institutional risks that came with committing to Hampshire, but believed the school’s resilience would keep the doors open. He added: “For my situation personally, the risk was worth it.”
Will current students get to finish?
Current students are also reeling from the news, all while facing immediate logistical challenges.
Isaac Zaret, a Division II student at Hampshire, said administrators indicated that some students will be allowed to remain through the end of 2026, but details are still uncertain.
“Even the rising Division IIIs [equivalent to seniors] are wondering, Are we going to have the resources to complete our final projects?”
The uncertainty extends beyond academics. Pointing to international students, low-income students, and those reliant on Hampshire and its campus support services, Zaret said, “As with any crisis, the most vulnerable are going to be the first to suffer and the ones to suffer the most.”
Zaret also spoke on deeper losses that many students are facing, namely that of the community they and others have fostered at Hampshire over its past five decades of existence. Zaret explained how the school created space for LGBTQ+ students, gender non-conforming students, and neurodivergent students to express themselves openly in an academic setting.
“That’s what I’m grieving the most,” Zaret said, “the community.”
The community asks for assistance
Students and faculty have organized to challenge the administration’s decision and push the school and the rest of the Five Colleges to help displaced people from Hampshire have an easier transition.
Sarah E. Jenkins, an assistant professor of animation and creative arts at Hampshire, has been actively involved in such faculty efforts, including requesting union recognition. She participated in faculty meetings addressing the school’s financial crisis before the closure announcement, and has become even more active in the time since.
“Faculty and staff are specifically focused on how Hampshire could better facilitate and advocate for us to have work,” Jenkins said. She also emphasized the role of the other four colleges in the consortium …
“We’ve asked the president and the dean to advocate with the other four [of the Five Colleges] for opening up visiting positions so faculty have at least a year to figure out their next steps, and to push for the welcoming and absorption of our staff and students.”
Despite those efforts, Jenkins said the response to faculty demands has felt insufficient.
“There are many things that are just not getting responded to,” she said. “Considering the urgency of the situation, it has felt slow and unorganized [and] not particularly direct, transparent, or clear.”
Jenkins said that in the past few weeks, her classroom has become a space for solidarity, with students using class time to share updates and offer support to each other. Still, she says there is an enormous emotional weight to what they are experiencing.
“They love being in class,” she said. “They’re working on their art projects, and I think they’re finding some amount of solace in that.”
