-
Confessions of a Community College Dean
In which a veteran of cultural studies seminars in the 1990s moves into academic administration and finds himself a married suburban father of two. Foucault, plus lawn care.
Title
A Salute to Hampshire
A struggling college and the success of community college transfer students.
By
Apparently Hampshire College is endangered enough that it’s looking at not accepting an entering class this Fall, and it’s looking for a merger.
As a former New Englander and a veteran of both the New England liberal arts college scene and Western Massachusetts in particular, this one was a shock.
Hampshire is one of the “five colleges,” a group of well-known colleges in Hampshire County that also includes UMass, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and The College That Shall Not Be Named. (Fellow Ephs know why.) In my time at Holyoke Community College, I actually participated in an articulation agreement photo op with then-President Lash at Hampshire. We used to send a few students there every year, although it was never as popular or welcoming as Mount Holyoke.
(The latest Jack Kent Cooke foundation report on the unheralded success of community college transfer students at selective four-year schools could easily have highlighted Mount Holyoke. It was always welcoming. The College That Shall Not Be Named wasn’t nearly as much…)
Hampshire’s claim to fame has been its 60’s vibe. It was born in 1970, later even than Holyoke CC was, and it was very much of its time. It has long embodied a sort of left Calvinism in which students scrutinize each other for signs of complicity with this form of domination or that one. Why anybody would voluntarily pay for that experience was never clear to me, but some people seemed to like it. A few years ago it posted an ad for a “chief creative officer,” which occasioned some chuckling among the neighbors. It was a very Hampshire thing to do.
Still, it has carried a strong reputation in its way for the last several decades. While its culture was, uh, let’s go with “quirky,” its academics were strong and its students smart. It was nestled among some of the most respected colleges in America, plus Amherst. It never occurred to me that it would be in trouble.
Demographics are ruthless.
Massachusetts has seen several colleges drop recently. Wheelock and Newbury Colleges are no more, although parts of Wheelock survive as part of a larger institution. But Hampshire has national name recognition and draw far beyond what either Wheelock or Newbury had. And it’s still not enough.
If I were a betting sort, I’d bet that Hampshire will become part of UMass. UMass is big enough to do it, and the two are literally in the same town. It wouldn’t be a stretch. I hope that happens; for all of its quirkiness, I’d hate to see Hampshire faculty and staff lose their jobs.
I have to tip my cap to Hampshire for being aboveboard about its plans. Statements of doom can become self-fulfilling. That often tempts colleges in crisis to put on a happy face in public until the last possible moment, with the unintended effect of stranding students who unknowingly commit to something that can’t commit to them. To its credit, Hampshire’s leadership has chosen instead to step up and avoid putting prospective students on a sinking ship. That could not have been easy. Whatever happens, I hope it’s able either to teach out its current students or to arrange soft landings for them at good places.
For the rest of us, especially in the Northeast, this is a red flag with flashing lights on it. Hampshire doesn’t have the endowment of some places, but it has a national name and a clear niche, and it couldn’t hold off demographic change. A model built for 1970 failed to change in time, though, to be fair, I don’t know how hard it tried. The world caught up and passed it by.
Here’s hoping that on its way out, Hampshire teaches the rest of us a crucial last lesson.
Read more by
Inside Higher Ed Careers
Browse Faculty Jobs
Browse Administrative Jobs
Browse Executive Administration Jobs
Topics
College Pages
Popular Right Now
Study documents economic gains from liberal arts education
How to write an effective diversity statement (essay)
NYU social work school admits to institutional racism in wake of student email
For Many, College Isn't Worth It
Advice for how to nurture your career network (essay)
Opposition hardens against one college seeking to merge and another planning to close
Film on Stanford prison experiment resurrects questions on ethics in psychology
College completion rates vary by race and ethnicity, report finds
Opinions on Inside Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed’s Blog U
Sign Up / Sign In
With your existing account from...
{* loginWidget *}With a traditional account...
{* #signInForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *} {* currentPassword *} {* /signInForm *}Newsletter enrollment
Existing account found
We have found an existing account for the email address.
Please sign in to update your newsletter preferences.
{* /signInForm *}Newsletter opt-out
Edit your newsletter preferences
Account Info
Sign In
Welcome back, {* welcomeName *}!
{* loginWidget *}Sign In
Welcome Back
Account Deactivated
Your account has been deactivated.
Account Reactivation Failed
Sorry, we could not verify that email address.
Email Verification Required
You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in.
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in. Already have an account? Sign In.
{* #registrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* newPassword *} {* newPasswordConfirm *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Thank You for Registering
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to verify your email address.
Create New Password
We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Create New Password
This email address was registered with a social account. We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password, which can be used in addition to your linked social providers.
{| current_emailAddress |}
{| foundExistingAccountText |} {| current_emailAddress |}.
{| existing_displayName |} - {| existing_provider |} : {| existing_siteName |} {| existing_createdDate |}
{| existing_provider_emailAddress |}
Sign In to Complete Account Merge
Resend Verification Email
Sorry, we could not verify that email address. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Change Password
Create New Password
We didn't recognize that password reset code. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resetPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent you an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Edit Your Account
Profile Photo
Linked Accounts
Link Your Accounts
This allows you to sign in to your account using that provider in the future.
Password
Deactivate Account
Change Password
Deactivate Your Account
Are you sure you want to deactivate your account? You will no longer have access to your profile.
{* deactivateAccountForm *} {* /deactivateAccountForm *}
Expand commentsHide comments — Join the conversation!