Hampshire President “Worried About The College Closing”

Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts is charting an uncertain course, facing declining enrollment and an unstable financial future. President Miriam Nelson has found herself in the heart of controversy. After a board vote to only accept a limited incoming class for Fall 2019, the college began layoffs that could put 30 to 50 percent of the faculty and staff out of work. Those projections are based on the fact that the college’s faculty is pegged to the number of students at the college – which will now face a precipitous decline due to the board’s vote. Following student and alumni protest and an attempted vote of no confidence from the faculty on Wednesday, Nelson spoke with WAMC Thursday.