University of the Arts students continue protest through Philadelphia as school set to close

Students from the University of the Arts are protesting for a third day on Wednesday. Dozens marched through the streets of Philadelphia and to City Hall.

"We are not going to back down. We want answers. There’s a lot of people that have been affected," student Cyrus Nasib told NBC10.

This comes days after the community found out that the university is closing its doors on Friday, June 7, after it lost its accreditation and announced it was out of money.

"The previous administration with David Yeager as president had a capital campaign that supposedly raised $67 million. The question is: Where is that money?" asked long-time teacher and alumna Laura Frazure.

On Tuesday, the school's president Kerry Walk resigned from her role the day after UArts canceled a town hall where they were supposed to meet with students and staff to answer questions.

Also on Tuesday, the Board of Trustees at the University of the Arts announced that it is working with the law firm Alvarez and Marshal as the school community proceeds through the imminent closure.

"With the resignation of Dr. Kerry Walk from the role of President, the Board of Trustees has engaged Alvarez & Marsal, a firm with deep experience advising and managing educational institutions through complex challenges. They will help us urgently address the needs of our students, faculty, and staff as we work through this process," chair of the Board of Trustees at UArts Judson Aaron said in a statement.

The union that represents teachers at the school, United Academics of Philadelphia, is getting ready to sue the University of the Arts over the abrupt closing.

"The union is negotiating the impact bargaining which is how we close the school: If we get severance pay, if we get any kind of compensation whatsoever. And the administration actually canceled the beginning session today that was scheduled for 2 p.m.," Frazure explained.

Staff members tell NBC10 that there was no indication the school would be closing which has left them scrambling to find new jobs.

"We are getting very limited information. —how hard is that for you right now? — it’s incredibly difficult. I filed for unemployment today. I’ve never filed for unemployment before in my life," Frazure said. It still remains unclear what will happen to students who have already paid for future semesters and classes.

Tuesday evening, eight staff members who have been employees of UArts filed a class action complaint against the school.

The complaint says the workers' rights were violated under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

UArts loses accreditation

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.

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.

"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.

Other schools offering help

Temple University is one of the schools that has stepped up to offer UArts students help. A spokesperson said that Temple is considering a merger with UArts, but hasn't released any details yet.

On Tuesday, Muhlenberg College sent out a statement saying they will be offering a pathway to welcome UArts students to their Allentown campus.

On Monday, Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 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.

The University of Delaware in Newark is also encouraging UArts students as well as students at the recently closed Delaware College of Art to consider transferring to their school.  

“The University of Delaware is committed to providing a smooth transition and an accessible college education for all transfer students as well as those beginning their college experience in the fall,” the university wrote on their website.