Latest Community Update Addresses Spring Semester Concerns

Photo by Melinda Huspen

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.

Students, staff and faculty completely filled the City Room during the Public Reading of Scripture and the subsequent update. Fifty people attended the meeting via Zoom as well.

The event began with Interim President Stockwell Day assuring the student body that the meeting would provide as much information as possible. 

“The only thing we don’t give out is some of the other schools that we’re talking to right now who request confidentiality, obviously we have to respect that,” Day said. “Everything else, I can assure you, we’re sharing with you, trying to keep you as up-to-date as we are.”

Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Anderson addressed the overdue rent notices that students living on campus received on Feb. 8. She stated that the unpaid rent is part of the $2.6 million gap in funds that the school is currently trying to meet to complete the semester. 

“That $2.6 million includes a lot of expenses that we’re trying to cover over the next few months, which includes the apartment rent,” Anderson said. “We have been in conversations with the Albee management, and in our conversations we had requested that those be [sent] directly to us.” 

According to Anderson, the Albee management executed standard procedure by slipping Past Due notices under the doors of individual King’s residences despite the school’s request. 

“That was a decision made by the overhead management, not necessarily by the on-the-ground employees that you guys interact with on a regular basis,” Anderson said. 

Anderson assured students that their housing situation is secure regardless of the notices and unpaid rent. 

“We are committed to paying Albee as soon as we are able and as we're continuously and currently working on fundraising efforts to meet that $2.6 million gap,” Anderson said. “In the meantime, please don't worry, you're not being evicted.”

“The state of New York actually has laws that very much favor tenants. There's really no need for any of you to worry, even if there are additional notices that get put up,” said Dr. Kimberly Reeve, Dean of Academic Affairs, when asked about what will happen if King’s misses another rent payment.

Reeve then announced that the school has fundraised $154,581 as of the time of the meeting. 

“I do want to emphasize that we started getting updates on this at 10 am, and I got three other emails updating that dollar amount because money keeps coming in,” Reeve said. “Obviously, we're grateful for the amount that has come in, and we are continuing to pray that God will open more doors.”

“Do we need 2.6 million to finish this semester or to finish this semester well?” Julia Jenson, a sophomore in the House of Corrie Ten Boom, asked.

“The answer is finish well,” Reeve said. “That includes paying all of the rent and paying all of our outstanding expenses, and Jennifer has been moving mountains to manage all payments and what we can try to defer.”

Reeve also explained that since the last Community Update, the school extended its fundraising emails to an additional 7500 people. While the appeal cites Feb. 15 as a deadline for donations, that deadline is not a hard and fast rule. 

“The 15th is more or less an artificial deadline that we put in,” said Reeve. “It is also important because it does give us a really good indicator of what the response is going to be.”

Reeve emphasized that larger donations are typically received later, and the college has received several responses from alumni, parents and stakeholders who are considering donating soon. 

When asked when the $2.6 million is actually needed by, Anderson said, “Our expenses obviously go throughout the semester. Rent is paid monthly, payroll is bi-weekly, a number of expenses come in throughout the month. It is kind of an ongoing need, but really as soon as we are able to raise it.”

Reeve also addressed the partnership with an unnamed university previously discussed at the beginning of the semester. The initial partnership fell through due to the requirement that the other school’s board vote unanimously to move forward. Since their vote was not unanimous, the partnership is no longer an option, although Reeve mentioned that the school is still interested in working with King’s in other ways.

“President Day had met with another potential partner about a month ago, and they said, ‘Hey, we want to be called immediately if option A doesn't work out.’ So they actually were on campus last week,” Reeve said. “We are continuing to pursue those partnerships, and then we have two others that have also reached out to us.”

Interim Provost Dr. Matthew Parks addressed the measures that King’s is taking to accommodate students who may need to transfer should the school close. 

“I've had conversations with a number of schools, several in New York City and several Christian colleges located elsewhere,” Parks said. “With some of those schools, we are in the late stages of working out formal agreements, the purpose of which will be to secure for you more favorable terms for transferring in terms of the credits that will be accepted, number of credits and how that would work, as well as a more favorable financial aid situation. The idea is to create a smoother pathway… than if you were just to go to the institution as a regular transfer student.” 

There are also schools negotiating informal agreements with King’s. These institutions are aware of the college’s situation and will assist students as they navigate their next steps. King’s is also preparing to provide additional assistance and information should the school close regarding financial aid, transcripts and other needed support. 

“We're proceeding on those threads so that we will be ready, if necessary, [to] roll out those plans as quickly as possible to give you the best opportunities and options available,” Parks said. “We're aware that there are certain sub-groups of students that have different situations that are more challenging this way or that way. For example, international students would have additional concerns. On that front, we've been in contact with the Department of Homeland Security, and are involved in conversations about the process there.”

“What will transfer options look like for Founder’s scholars if the need arises? Will the aid be able to be honored?” asked Melinda Huspen, a junior in the House of Queen Elizabeth I. 

“Those are parts of conversations that go institution by institution. We have made them aware that we have students that are on full scholarship, at least on the tuition side in that case. We'll see what the terms are that we get in response,” said Parks.

When asked further about the transfer process and whether students should begin applications now, Parks and Reeve explained that the negotiations should accommodate King’s students regarding application deadlines.

When asked how likely it will be for King’s to close, Parks said, “I'm not going to try to speak to that directly except to say that we need something to change. That's what the partnership conversations are about. That's what the fundraising efforts are about. That's what we're praying about and working on every front.”

Reeve and Anderson assured the students that their top priority is to finish the semester, and they are taking measures to ensure this. Parks and Reeve noted that King’s is still organizing the graduation ceremony in anticipation of the end of the semester.

When asked how King’s will approach honoring the $2.6 million debt if they are unable to raise it, Reeve said, “Typically what happens in a situation like this is you start negotiating a payment plan… I know that as a nonprofit, we don't often think of running like a business. These are more business decisions. This is really pretty common if there isn't any money available. That would be the first path that we would pursue.”

“I also just want to acknowledge that these are difficult times, and we don't have all the answers,” Reeve said. “I want to encourage all of us to do our best this semester… I really want to encourage you to show up for your community, for yourselves, to the glory of God, and I pray that you will join all of us in doing that.”

The next Community Update will be held after the Public Reading of Scripture in the City Room on Monday, Feb. 27.

Melinda Huspen is the Managing Editor of the Empire State Tribune. She is a junior at The King’s College studying Journalism, Culture and Society.

Mandie-Beth Chau is the Campus Editor at the Empire State Tribune. She is a freshman studying Journalism, Culture and Society.