PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – State leaders are searching for answers after the sudden closure of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia this month. The Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee will hold a hearing today to discuss the closure.
Philadelphia Rep. Ben Waxman, who represents Center City and South Philly in the Pennsylvania House, is hosting the hearing to receive testimony from UArts students, staff and community members in the wake of the closure.
The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will be streamed live on the commission’s website.
An informative meeting was held on FridayJune 14 by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) via Zoom, discussing the closure.
UArts gave just a week’s notice of the closure on June 7, and on the final day, students, staff and supporters rallied openly to demand answers about why the school closed.
People mainly heard through media reports that the 150-year-old institution would close its doors.
“I’ve been talking to my friends and it feels like someone has died, we’re getting evicted and we’re being robbed and it’s kind of all those emotions at once,” Kaitlyn Oliveri said. “It hurts to see that the people who entrusted us to take care of it neglected us.”
Philadelphia City Councilman Mark Squilla is also calling for an investigation into UArts’ closure. He introduced a resolution on June 6, it was passed by the City Council to hold hearings on the closure.
Why is the University of the Arts closed?
The closure announcement came after the MSCHE declared that the university would lose its accreditation on June 1.
MSCHE has decided to strip the institute of its accreditation for failing to comply with the committee’s requests for written reports, lesson plans and more.
UArts cited declining enrollment and revenue as the cause of the closure.
“Like many higher education institutions, UArts is in fragile financial condition, with many years of declining enrollment, declining revenues and rising costs,” the university said in a statement.
UArts faculty member and vice president of United Academics of Philadelphia Bradley Philbert told CBS News Philadelphia that about 600 staff were fired in early June over a Zoom call.
Also, University of the Arts President Kerry Walk resigned four days later the school suddenly announced its closure.
Those affected by the university’s closure are now seeking legal action.
Two lawsuits have been filed against UArtsincluding one from a group of faculty members who are part of the United Academics of Philadelphia union.
The first lawsuit represents nine employees. The second lawsuit, filed Wednesday, June 12, names 12 plaintiffs, including organizers from United Academics of Philadelphia.
In the wake of the announcement Temple University, Drexel University, Moore College of Art and Design, Montclair State University, Point Park University in Pittsburgh and The New School in New York City said they are in the process of accepting agreements Students from the College of the Arts who are interested in a transfer.
UArts hired Alvarez and Marsal, a Philadelphia consulting firm dealing with its closure.
The closure is another loss for the city’s art schools. Earlier this year the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) announced that it would end its courses at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
