Holy Cross VP paints bleak future for college in emails mistakenly sent to students

SOUTH BEND — In an email mistakenly sent out Friday to the entire student body, a Holy Cross College vice president painted a bleak picture of the college's finances and its chances of survival.

"It may be that I will spend the better part of the coming school year closing down the College," Vice President for Student Affairs Kelly Jordan wrote in the email that was obtained by the South Bend Tribune. "All we can do is try our hardest and hope for the best!"

Jordan could not be immediately reached Friday for comment.

On Friday morning, the college quickly tried to electronically recall the message, but it was too late. The email already had been opened by many students and saved. Four Holy Cross students on Friday confirmed to The Tribune that they had received the email. Some faculty and staff may also have received it.

The email spread like wildfire among students, employees and alumni throughout the day, raising fears about the financial well being and the future of the college just a few weeks after the the college president, Brother John Paige, abruptly left that job.

Paige was replaced April 7 by the Rev. David Tyson, a Holy Cross priest and an administrator at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. Tyson was named interim president by the board of trustees. No reason was given for Paige's departure.

Friday's email contained a chain of messages dating back to April 9 between Jordan and an administrator at Culver Academies, a college prep boarding school in Culver, Ind. In the messages, Jordan expresses interest in doing some work for Culver Academies.

"As you may have heard, the Board fired our president quite unexpectedly ... and since then three of the five VPs have left (asked to resign or resigned on their own), leaving just two of us remaining as VPs ... I am not sure how all this is going to play out for the College (i.e., if it can even remain in operation). All of this, of course, is strictly confidential, and I know that I can count on your discretion," Jordan wrote April 23 to the Culver administrator.

Holy Cross, a Catholic four-year liberal arts college, has an enrollment of about 529 students on campus. The institution is is facing serious financial challenges, although its academic accreditation remains intact.

The college has been ordered by the Higher Learning Commission, an accrediting agency, to develop a plan to get out from under increasing borrowing and the need to eliminate positions each summer to balance its budget. The college's operating budgets in fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015 were in the red, according to a copy of a recent HLC assessment team's final report on Holy Cross obtained by The Tribune.

In the part of the email chain dated Friday, Jordan describes why some small liberal arts colleges across the country are closing: "...the costs have become far greater (esp. in the last 5-7 years) than the revenue that can be generated from the small number of students who can afford to attend these schools and choose to do so," he wrote.

Small colleges need an external influx of dependable funding, healthy endowments and strong fundraising operations to be able to attract and retain students, Jordan wrote. "That is a tall order for a school the size of Holy Cross College, and it forces us into competition with other, better funded institutions with larger and more attractive offerings for the same declining pool of qualified students," he wrote.

Several Holy Cross underclassmen who spoke with The Tribune on Friday said they were disturbed by the contents of the email and wonder if the college may close before they are able to graduate. They said they shared the email and their concerns about the financial stability of the college with their parents and are considering their futures. They declined to be quoted or identified by name for publication.

Tyson, the interim president, was not available for comment Friday. He sent out the following email Friday afternoon to students and employees:

"You may have heard about, or received, an email this morning that included some alarming information about the future of the College.

"Please understand that this was one person’s opinion and does not reflect the conversations that the Board of Trustees and administration are having about the future of the College.

"I am working with the Board and partners in the community to develop a robust plan for the future of the College. Although I may not be able to share the details of that plan yet, I want to reassure you that I am fully committed to the success of Holy Cross College.

"Regardless of what rumors may be circulating, I am looking forward to classes beginning in August and working with the faculty and students to create a bright future for the College that fully reflects the Holy Cross mission."

mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com

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