The King’s College announced that it will not hold classes for the Fall 2023 semester and is pausing operations until further notice as of Monday, July 17. As a result of ongoing financial turmoil and having its accreditation revoked, the college decided to temporarily close while in search of a “strategic alliance.” The college began publicly looking for a partner in Jan. 2023, and ended its former partnership with Primacorp in April.

The perilous state of Documents and interviews with insiders offer a more complete picture of key economic, strategic and circumstantial factors leading to the dramatic turn of events that left students, staff, faculty and families in limbo for months. in New York City developed over decades, hit turbulence in the past two years, then turned into a stunning death spiral in the Spring 2023 semester. 

The King’s College’s academic accreditors conducted another meeting notifying the institution of their investigation findings last Friday, April 28. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) clarified that the conclusions presented are not final, nor do they constitute any definitive verdict on King’s accreditation status going forward. The findings presented, according to MSCHE procedures, “represent only the first step in a multi-level decision-making process.”

The King’s College officially ended its partnership with Primacorp Ventures and switched out members of the Board of Trustees, according to an email announcement from Chairman Henry Morriello sent on the evening of Friday, April 21. “The King’s College and Primacorp Ventures, Inc. have mutually and amicably agreed to end our collaboration agreements,” Morriello said, “including with respect to board representation and involvement in operations.”

The student body elected Mattilyn Winburn as Student Body President for The King’s College’s 2022-23 school year on Feb. 24, 2022. Winburn, a senior in the House of Clara Barton, spoke with Colby McCaskill, City Editor at the Empire State Tribune, during Interregnum XVIII about her time as the student body president during a season of financial woes and continued ambiguity about the King’s future.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, The King’s College’s academic accreditors, conducted an informational meeting notifying the student body of King’s recent failure to satisfy MSCHE accreditation standards on Monday, April 3. According to MSCHE representatives, King’s accreditation status is not to be revoked before, if at all, June 2023.

The King’s College hosted its nineteenth – and possibly last – Spring Interregnum from March 29 to 31. The winners of the Interregnum Cup and the annual House Cup were the House of Sojourner Truth and the House of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, respectively. This year’s Interregnum theme was Flourishing, an adjective that might appear difficult to embody under the current circumstances at King’s. Some students at the college chose to skip Spring Interregnum because of the school’s situation. 

(OPINION) A recent New York Times article depicted The King’s College as a conservative, predominately white and Protestant institution. In doing so, they directly ignored the minority voices that are poignantly shaping King’s. The Times emphasized the white presence at King’s by quoting only white students; only one out of the four was a woman. At least three students of color were interviewed, but the Times didn’t include their side of the story.

(OPINION) Last February, my world was folding in on top of me. That was the day the Russian army invaded the eastern Ukrainian city where my grandparents lived. Living with the notion that the people I love are in constant danger of being attacked while trying to keep up with college schoolwork was far from easy and still is sometimes. But this article isn’t about me, Ukraine or any national-level catastrophe.  Instead, it's about the unrest happening at The King’s College right now and how we should respond.

On-campus residents at Albee recently received letters from ConEdison requiring The King’s College to pay its outstanding balance, or else face a utility shut-off tomorrow, March 21. A ConEdison employee with knowledge of the situation informed the Empire State Tribune that the letter is simply a first warning and that King’s students are not in danger of losing utilities in the next few months.

(OPINION) There is another context in which I view these things. King's is a "strategic institution," however overused that phrasing became. It is a point of gathering and departure for many ambitious, capable Christians willing to subject themselves to a formative education. Running a private Christian liberal arts school in NYC is obviously a tall order. But when I was there we had 500+ students, and it seemed only to be getting bigger. Profs would complain about how many sections they had to teach and how many students they had to juggle. What went wrong?

(OPINION) Many students at The King’s College are aware of the multiple overdue rent notices and the service of an eviction threat from a debt collector to student residents. However, many do not know about the actual debt collector Kucker Marino Winarsky & Bittens. The multi-million dollar firm describes itself as “a highly respected Manhattan law firm” focusing on real estate and corporate law. Still, I can’t help but wonder: How respected can Kucker be when the New York Attorney General investigated them two separate times? 

The King’s College will be able to finish the spring 2023 semester thanks to a $2 million loan from Peter Chung, although the future of the college remains uncertain. In an email on Friday, March 3, King’s confirmed that “we received bridge financing that will provide us with funds to ensure that we can fulfill our financial obligations to faculty and staff through the end of the semester.” The $2 million loan does not cover the overdue rent for the Albee on-campus housing.

King’s discussed transfer options, current fundraising updates and the TKC Letters Project at the Community Update meeting on Monday, Feb. 27. “We've had a number of people… working on different transfer agreements with a bunch of schools,” said Dr. Kimberly Reeve, Dean of Academic Affairs. “This is to give you options.” Reeve then named seven schools actively building transfer agreements with King’s, noting that King’s has legal permission from each institution to disclose their identity to the public.

(OPINION) I won’t lie – it’s hard being at King’s these days.  As a senior, The King’s College has become home. I’ve been here through the COVID lockdowns, the tension of the 2020 election cycle and the general insecurity of a post-pandemic city. The Community Update on Feb. 13 felt like the breaking point. But I’ve kept coming back to this question that my dad would always ask: Who are we, and who are we becoming? Regardless of our circumstances, we are always being molded and shaped toward something. So who will we choose to be in the midst of uncertainty? 

Students living in the Albee on-campus housing have continued to receive statements concerning The King’s College’s overdue rent, with many citing a 14-day deadline. On-campus residents received letters in the mail from Kucker Marino Winiarsky & Bittens, a debt collector on behalf of the Albee residences concerning the overdue rent on Thursday, Feb. 23. Students then received notices from Spencer Albee Equities, the building management, on Friday, Feb. 24. These stated that the leaseholder (King’s) has 14 days from Feb. 21 to pay their rent. 

(OPINION) So far, most of the coverage by mainstream news outlets of The King’s College’s financial woes has oddly focused on King’s donors such as Bill Hwang, the DeVos family and interim president Stockwell Day.  It would be smart for reporters to dig more into Canadian businessman Peter Chung and his involvement with King’s in the past two years as well as his other business ventures through Primacorp Ventures Inc. and the Emanata Group. Could it be true that Chung was a philanthropist and a savior for King’s during a time of crisis of the Covid-19 Pandemic? Or could it be true that Chung's failed vision and turbulent strategy for King’s has contributed to King’s weak financial position and potential for closure? 

(OPINION) My heart, as it has been for the past few weeks, is keenly attuned to The King’s College and its dire situation. To be honest, there is little I can tangibly do to help this situation. It is easy to get wrapped up in feelings of dread and defeat as the future remains uncertain for King’s in New York City. But worry, as we all know, never solves our deeper problems.

After four weeks of fried famine, free Chick-Fil-A sandwiches will once again be provided to attendees of The King’s College’s weekly Public Reading of Scripture (PRS) starting Monday, Feb. 20. “The money is coming from a Bonhoeffer alumnus who is generously funding the food for PRS,” said Director of Spiritual Life Rafael Oliveira in a press release. “He is committed to funding Chick-Fil-A for every PRS until the end of the semester.” 

The Community Update on Monday, Feb. 13 addressed the college’s current debt, efforts in fundraising, continued partnership discussions and transfer arrangements in the event that the school should close. The event began with Interim President Stockwell Day assuring the student body that the meeting would provide as much information as possible.

Students received single-page notices slipped under their apartment doors at Albee on-campus housing explaining that The King’s College owes at least $200,000 in rent on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Most of the statements cited between $9,000 and $10,000 as the rent due on each apartment. In response to the notices, King’s sent out an email shortly after saying that “this notice is addressed to The King’s College and poses no legal risk to you or change in the status of your housing situation.”

The King’s College recently renewed and extended its lease on 52 Broadway with Armano Real Estate, but it does not include the O’Keeffe Student Union. Dean of Students David Leedy revealed that “the Student Union will be closed except for pre-approved events” in an announcement made during the Spring 2023 Welcome Back Gathering on Jan. 19. As part of an improvement package from the United Federation of Teachers, King’s will give up the Student Union completely in 2024. 

Dr. Kimberly Reeve informed the student body that The King’s College has “a funding gap of approximately $2.6 million” during the community update following the Public Reading of Scripture on Jan. 30. “That's what we need… to finish the end of this semester well,” Reeve said. Two days later, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, multiple emails regarding the current financial situation were sent out to the larger network of the King’s community. The email asked alumni to “donate by February 15th, 2023 to help ensure that we meet our immediate financial needs.”

Attendance for The King’s College’s Public Reading of Scripture (PRS) has significantly dropped in the first two weeks of the Spring 2023 semester after the formal announcement of no more free Chick-fil-A from the college’s Grace and Mercy Foundation (G&M) grant during their Welcome Back Gathering. It remains unclear as to how the funds that were paying for lunch at PRS are being reallocated.

(OPINION) As recently reported, many of our activities at King's are now looking and feeling very different. This moment in King’s history is fraught with uncertainty. Day advised the student body on how to respond. Day’s allegorical instructions, while good-intentioned, deeply misrepresented biblical processes of grief and scientific literature on how we as human beings feel. A constant grief of mine is a thread of “wack theology” that creeps in time and time again: negative emotions are ungodly. In light of the new updates and alterations to our student experience and institution as a whole, lend your ears as I aim to untangle this self-spun web of emotional suppression that stifles our relationship with sorrow and hope alike.

The student organizations and Houses of The King’s College are already feeling the effects of the shortened school hours and budget cuts coming to King’s this semester. Despite navigating the new financial adjustments, many King’s students remain hopeful.

The King’s College’s Executive Committee announced incoming changes to the school’s budget and operations during the Spring 2023 Welcome Back Gathering on Thursday, Jan. 19. Interim President Stockwell Day explained that The King's College will make a series of budget cuts and adjustments to “show donors that we are being fiscally responsible.”

President Tim Gibson is stepping down from his role at The King’s College, according to an email announcement sent out on Thursday, Aug. 11. Mr. Stockwell Day, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, is serving as the Interim President starting immediately—also noting $4 million dollars of upgrades to the King’s facilities in the future.