Closure Information

A message from President Jennifer Chrisler and the Board of Trustees

Seven years ago, the Hampshire community presented the College with a powerful mandate: to maintain independence and remain true to Hampshire’s deepest-held values. Since then, we have all worked together toward those goals, facing daunting challenges with the ingenuity and resolve that define the best of what happens here. We left no stone unturned, no solution unexplored, and made many sacrifices along the way. 

Despite this herculean effort, the financial pressures on the College’s operations have become increasingly complex, compounded by shifting external factors. As President Chrisler has shared regularly with our community and our regulatory agencies, we worked aggressively to increase enrollment, refinance existing debt, and realize new revenue via the sale of a portion of our land. We have long known that addressing these issues is essential to establishing a stable financial foundation, supporting long-term operations, and meeting regulatory requirements. We are faced with the clear, heartbreaking reality that progress on each of these three key factors has fallen far short of what we had hoped.  

As a result, the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Hampshire College following the fall 2026 semester. The rationale behind this painful vote reflects several realities. The College no longer has the resources to sustain full operations and meet our regulatory responsibilities. The inability to substantially grow enrollment would mean extraordinary cuts to our operating budgets to educate the student body we can reasonably anticipate. Additionally, the degree of short-term debt tied to our land assets means that even a favorable sale would not change our long-term financial trajectory given current enrollment.  

The timing of this decision assures that we can leverage the institution’s limited financial resources to facilitate a transition that allows our current students to complete their undergraduate education (either here or at a partner institution), is respectful of our faculty and staff, maintains the value of a Hampshire College degree, and honors the lasting legacy of Hampshire and its alumni.

We write today to share this information and what it means to you as early as possible. This web page offers information about what this decision means for members of our community and details on next steps. We have assessed and planned for much of what needs to happen going forward, but many details need to be resolved, and we will offer more information in the coming days. Continue to check this page for updates.

We want to assure you that Hampshire’s board made its decision only after exploring every possible alternative. Nearly every trustee is an alum, and we share in the community’s heartbreak. Yet we know that you will come together, as you always do, to support each other and take much-deserved pride in what makes this college unlike any other.    

Since its founding in 1965, Hampshire College has been home to a group of deeply curious, creative people who have radically reimagined the liberal arts, using a singular, distinctive model designed to change and respond to the most pressing issues facing society. We remain unwavering in our belief that the experience a Hampshire College education provides is exactly what the world needs. For more than five decades, our remarkable students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends have brought the College’s motto, “To Know Is Not Enough,” to life. We are committed to preserving this profound legacy and to ensuring that the story of Hampshire’s unique and audacious vision will continue to serve as an inspiration to bold, iconoclastic thinkers well into the future.

Sincerely, 

Jenn Chrisler, president
 
Jose Fuentes 05F, chair of the board 

Elle Chan 87F, chair-elect