PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — University of the Arts students and faculty are demanding answers after the school abruptly announced last week that it would close on June 7. Frustration grew after school officials canceled a virtual town hall meeting Monday afternoon, minutes before it was supposed to begin, and grew again with news that the university’s president has stepped down.
The front of the University of the Arts’ main building on South Broad Street, Hamilton Hall, is plastered with posters. Messages are written in chalk on the building and on the sidewalk, demanding the school be saved. One poster read: “I found out on Instagram.”
Students started a “creative rally” outside the building around noon on Monday. The plan was to continue through 5 p.m. after a scheduled 4 p.m. town hall meeting, where school officials said they would answer questions about the decision to shut the institution down.
However, about 10 minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, those who registered to attend received a message from the school saying it was canceled.
“We know you are heartbroken and frustrated about our impending closure on Friday, June 7,” the message said. “As the situation continues to unfold rapidly, we cannot adequately answer your questions today. We want everyone to know that we exhausted every option to address the urgent crisis and find a pathway to keep the institution open. However, we could not identify a viable path for UArts to remain open and serve its mission.”
The school said it would post answers to the frequently asked questions section of its website at some point.
Students spent the night in front of Hamilton Hall, protesting the sudden closure. Some said they would not leave until university officials rescheduled the town hall and held it in person to answer their questions and address their concerns.
“No communication at all,” said Christina Mattei. “I didn’t realize it was imploding from the inside. No one did. None of the students did. They all believed in us.”
Mattei, a single mother, recently moved from Los Angeles to work in University of the Arts’ music department. She says there was no warning and no communication before the university’s announcement.
“We know nothing. I saw the dean there yesterday. His eyes … full of water. I wouldn’t say that tears were coming down, but I saw it in his eye, and I was like, ‘Wow. Everyone is like a mess.’”
Non-senior students and would-be future students who committed to UArts in the fall are scrambling to figure out their next steps . Mike Johnson, program director of the music department, is working to help students figure out what’s next — but unfortunately, they’re all in the same boat.
“I discovered this exactly the same as all of my colleagues: by a number of sites on the internet,” Johnson said.
“They said we would be getting our degrees in July. There’s no transparency exactly on what that process is going to entail,” said recent grad Rayne Smith.
“I really wanted to know why we couldn’t come as a community to talk to each other,” said dance major Rebecca Palmer. “Why can’t we advocate by being a community and standing strong in the closure of our school.”
When Noël, a sophomore and dance major at the school, heard President Kerry Walk had resigned from the university, she couldn’t hold back her emotions: “It’s so cowardly that people are hiding behind screens and closed doors and not communicating.”
The university said it would “support our continuing students in their progress to degree by developing seamless transfer pathways to our partners: Temple University, Drexel University, and Moore College of Art and Design, among others.”
Point Park University in Pittsburgh said it would offer automatic acceptance to affected students and one semester of free housing in residence halls for up to 75 students.