Hampshire College To Close In 2026 Despite Raising $55 Million
Hampshire College will close in 2026 despite raising $55 million. The liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, said leaders could not secure a sustainable financial path forward. Administrators pointed to years of enrollment declines and operating deficits that fundraising alone could not fix.
The college had raised $55 million in recent months, but donors' support could not erase deep structural shortfalls in revenue and cost. Students, faculty, alumni, and local leaders expressed disappointment and anger, and some questioned whether broader changes in higher education financing made small colleges vulnerable. The closure will force current students to find other programs and raise new questions about the sustainability of niche liberal arts models in the United States.
đ Key Facts
- Hampshire College announced it will close at the end of 2026 despite raising $55 million in a rescue campaign.
- The college targeted $90-100 million in fundraising but still ran a 2025 operating deficit of about $3.7 million with net assets around $37.9 million.
- Enrollment fell from 1,352 students in 2004-2005 to fewer than 500 in 2021-2022, and the school drew 9% annually from a shrinking endowment.
- Huron Consulting Group projects 442 of 1,700 private, nonprofit U.S. colleges could close in the next decade.
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