‘No idea what we're going to do.' UArts cancels town hall meeting, president resigns

The University of the Arts canceled its promised town hall meeting with its school community to discuss its recent announcement that it will be closing on June 7, 2024.

The school was set to hold a virtual information session on Monday, June 3, at 4 p.m. but canceled it just minutes prior.

“We know you are heartbroken and frustrated about our impending closure on Friday, June 7. As the situation continues to unfold rapidly, we cannot adequately answer your questions today,” the University of the Arts said in a statement shared with NBC10.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education told NBC10 late on Tuesday, June 4, that UArts president Kerry Walk resigned.

This comes as students held a protest outside the UArts administration building Monday afternoon into Tuesday. Many students, and some faculty who were there to support them, voiced their concerns over the university’s decision to close.

“A lot of their principles on advocacy and resources and providing a safe space for our community. I feel like that’s been taken away,” Zachary Bright, an incoming senior at UArts, said.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education withdrew the university's accreditation this past Saturday on June 1.

Schools that lose their accreditation have the right to appeal the action, but the commission says that earlier in the week it was notified by UArts that the school is anticipating to close.

That same week the now former university president said the school was being forced to close due to declining enrollment and increasing expenses, according to a statement shared by UArts.

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The university explained that it will work with current students to transfer to partnering schools like Temple University, Drexel University and others.

“When the discussion making was taking place, we should have been included…to find out what was going on all along…after it was already decided, kind of … leaves us out in the cold,” Director of Jazz Studies at the school, Don Clanden, said.

Students and staff say many are scrambling to transfer to other schools where their programs and majors are available. Temple and Drexel universities are options for some but not all majors.

On Monday, Point Park University released a statement addressing UA students saying it “offers automatic acceptance to those interested in attending Point Park beginning this fall.”

Point Park also said it will provide one full semester of free housing in its residence halls for up to 75 UA students.

“Our residence halls have limited capacity, and spaces are filling up quickly. We encourage University of the Arts students to make their decision promptly so they can take advantage of this limited-time housing opportunity,” Marlin Collingwood, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Point Park, said.

Automatic acceptance is available for fall 2024 and first-year transfer students. This includes direct artistic admission into the Cinema Production, Animation, Screenwriting, and (technical) Theatre production programs within Point Park, the school said in a statement.

To read the full statement by Point Park University, click here.

“There’s a lot of professors who have lost their income. There’s a lot of people who are living on student housing that are going to be homeless until about the middle of August,” Cyrus Nasid, a student protest organizer at UArts, said.

"We have done everything in our power to address this crisis and avoid the worst possible outcome: an abrupt closure. Yet we have reached this deeply painful outcome, which we know affects our entire community. We are grateful for all you’re doing to support one another during this most difficult time," the school's chair of the board of trustees, Judson Aaron and the school's president Kerry Walk said in a statement.

In the statement announcing the cancellation of Monday's town hall meeting, the school provided a link to a Google form for students, faculty and staff to submit questions regarding the school's closure.

There has been no word on if the town hall will be rescheduled.

Some protesters remained through Monday night into Tuesday morning along Broad Street.