End of an Era on the Mountaintop

Alderson Broaddus is no more. An emergency meeting held by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) on Monday, July 31, 2023, blindsided both university and city officials. The meeting's timing was announced a mere four hours prior, giving no one adequate time to prepare for the impending developments.

The HEPC meeting was announced while several school officials and Board of Trustee members were en route to Chicago for their previously scheduled meeting with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The HLC meeting was part of the regular accreditation process that every school in the nation goes through. Therefore, it was quite surprising that state officials scheduled an emergency meeting, knowing that the school's Interim President, Andrea Bucklew, might struggle to attend on time. She managed to make it with minutes to spare, as the plane landed just 20 minutes before the meeting began. However, even her statement about promising enrollment of almost 700 students and close to half a million dollars fundraised within three weeks seemed to have fallen on deaf ears among the Commission members.

How did it all start, and how did we get to the point of a 152-year-old institution shutting its doors? Pinpointing the exact moment is challenging, as Alderson Broaddus has experienced severe ups and downs over the last two decades. Even those decades weren't enough – the school rarely achieved long-term financial stability in its century and a half of existence. Nevertheless, it somehow found its way out and managed to be a staple of Barbour County since 1923.

Delving into history doesn't provide much solace for the community that overnight lost its "college town" identity. However, it does offer context for these tumultuous three weeks in July. In the early 2000s, then-President Markwood executed an exceptionally successful year-long fundraising effort, raising close to $20 million. This left the school with a substantial, multi-million-dollar endowment fund upon his retirement in 2008. The subsequent two and a half years were a blur. Newly appointed President Clyburn was barely seen on campus or around town, and he abruptly left campus in the middle of the night, leaving the Board of Trustees scrambling to salvage the fallout of his short but stormy tenure. This led to the search for a new President in the summer of 2011, resulting in the hiring of President Creehan.

One of President Creehan's initial actions was to hire an external auditing firm to assess the school's finances and enrollment. The audit revealed alarming facts – the school was more than $4 million in debt and had barely 400 full-time students. The firm strongly advised the school to shut down immediately due to the lack of a clear path forward. This marked a pivotal moment when the Board of Trustees and the new President decided to take extreme measures to save the school. Two simultaneous actions were necessary – generating instant cash flow and swiftly doubling and tripling the student population. The Board suspended restrictions on using restricted funds in the endowment, utilizing the money to pay off outstanding debts and fund two years until the completion of new dorms and a football stadium.

The introduction of 20 athletic programs, including a football team, boosted enrollment to over 1100 in 2013 and 2014. Contrary to the popular culture depiction of college athletes receiving full scholarships, the influx of athletes actually provided the tuition money required for cash flow. In Division II sports, full scholarships were a rarity. At the time, a few sports had grandfathered full scholarships and tuition remissions, but the majority of athletes received a $2000 athletic scholarship. The remaining tuition costs were covered through academic awards, private scholarships, Pell grants, federal or bank loans, or individual payments. The football team alone brought in over $3 million in tuition money.

The school also transitioned from being a college to a university, primarily to introduce more postgraduate programs – such as Anatomy, Educational Leadership, and Computer Technology.

However, a bigger problem loomed. The school borrowed nearly $30 million for new construction on campus, and the terms of the loan proved impossible, resulting in the school falling behind on payments to bondholders by 2016. President Creehan was dismissed later that year, and the school utilized the "Registry" program to hire President Barry immediately. He assumed the role of School President around Christmas 2016, with his primary responsibility being to mend the relationship with bondholders and secure a federal loan instead.

In late 2018, Alderson Broaddus University received $27.7 million from the US Department of Agriculture. This money was used to repay the loan to bondholders, shifting the debt from a private loan company to the federal government, with more favorable payment terms. In 2019, positive signs emerged. Enrollment started to grow again, reaching around 900, and the Higher Learning Commission removed the school from probation status that had been imposed due to unstable financial circumstances. Unfortunately, the world ground to a halt in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving higher education institutions across the country in a difficult position. By 2022, college enrollment nationwide had plummeted by almost 20 percent, as fewer young people chose to pursue higher education. Alderson Broaddus also felt this impact, observing a drop in the number of students, although official reports listed more than 830 students in 2021.

The events between the fall of 2020 and the fall of 2022 remain shrouded in mystery at this point. According to financial audits, the university found itself in debt by nearly $6 million. It appeared they were banking on a major donation from the estate of the late Ron Burbick. However, the promised $14 million donation to replenish the endowment turned out to be only $1.1 million – far from enough to aid the school's recovery. Despite receiving three rounds of Covid relief funding and several other grants, including a $1,000,000 grant from the state of West Virginia to boost enrollment in the nursing program, as well as a $500,000 grant from the federal government in February 2023 for updating the nursing clinical lab, the financial challenges persisted.

Statements from HEPC before the House Education Committee this week revealed that President Barry had informed HEPC in May 2023 that the school would close its doors. This was in direct contrast to a letter sent to the faculty and staff when rumors of possible closure began circulating in December 2022. Despite the administration's assurances that everything was fine and under control, the atmosphere on campus suggested an inevitable closure. The admissions office was reduced to only a secretary, the advancement office was nearly empty, and there seemed to be no effort to increase enrollment or launch a major fundraising campaign.

In the spring of 2023, a group of alumni formed an informal Coalition to Save AB, advocating for the removal of President Barry and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Becky Hooman, and demanding transparency. Although President Barry was slated to serve the remainder of his term and retire at the end of June, his tenure was abruptly cut short on the night of the Chamber of Commerce Banquet held on campus, for reasons yet unknown. The following morning, the school announced that Interim President Andrea Bucklew would take over. By the end of the month, Chairman of the Board also resigned, and Jim Garvin assumed the role of Chairman. Several members of the Coalition were also appointed to the Board at that time.

In early June, the new Board sprang into action after discovering the dire financial situation. They immediately began raising funds to cover payroll through the summer. However, they were hit by news from the HEPC meeting in late June. The state organization placed a hold on allowing the school to confer degrees, adding another challenge for the new Board. Due to recent leadership changes, HEPC granted the school two weeks to provide the necessary documents. On July 12, Alderson Broaddus University was permitted to open for the 2023-2024 school year.

However, events took a drastic turn within a week. On July 18, the Philippi City Council voted to issue a notice to shut off utilities to the University due to unpaid bills totaling more than $750,000. This utility payment issue dates back a year. Until 2022, Alderson Broaddus University had an arrangement with the City, making two annual bulk payments instead of monthly ones – one in January/February and the other in September. After the September payment was missed, the City issued a notice to shut off utilities. However, the West Virginia Public Service Commission stated they couldn't take such action as long as a single student resided on campus. Instead, a new payment plan was established, requiring monthly payments for the current bill and concurrent payments toward the outstanding bulk payment bill. Payments were made monthly until the summer of 2023 when the school stopped, leading the City to vote once again to issue a notice to shut off utilities. Although they couldn't execute the shutdown due to the PSC decision, the notice would give the new administration an opportunity to renegotiate the payment plan.

On July 25, news about the shut-off notice spread widely across the state. In response, HEPC convened an emergency meeting to revoke the school's ability to confer degrees, given the information about the utility bill. The meeting was initially scheduled for July 28, but a day earlier, Governor Jim Justice urged HEPC to cancel the meeting and grant the new administration time to address the issue.

The issue was indeed resolved on that Friday when the school promised a payment of approximately $67,000. The new payment plan was submitted to the Public Service Commission. On July 31, the PSC was informed that the promised payment had been made that morning and that the school intended to comply with the terms of the new plan. However, HEPC suddenly decided to shut down the school within hours, without mentioning in the Zoom meeting that the school had fulfilled the payment plan or allowing anyone from the school to address this point.

To say that no one expected such a decision would be an understatement. Football players were set to move onto campus just a few days later, with other fall sports scheduled to arrive that week. The school administration was in Chicago, attending the HLC meeting regarding academic accreditation. Students had already paid deposits for their dorms, and everything seemed to be progressing positively. HEPC's decision left everyone stunned, especially the new Board members who felt they hadn't been given adequate opportunity to address the issues. The same night as the HEPC decision, after a lengthy meeting, the Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to initiate the process of dissolving the institution.

Now, the primary concern is rapidly placing the students in different schools, a daunting task with only weeks remaining before other colleges commence their academic terms. Staff members received termination notices via email last Thursday night, leaving nearly 200 people scrambling to secure new employment immediately. The once-illuminated campus atop the hill has faded. The campus remains dark and quiet at night, with only a handful of people in offices during the day. Information is limited, and speculation abounds about the fate of the land and buildings.

The town is grappling with the immediate financial impact of HEPC's decision, and uncertainty fills the air regarding residents who lost their jobs and businesses that depended on student and visitor income.

"In our home among the mountains, with our little town, may we never forget the memories that still gather round. Swell the chorus, let it echo, over hill and vale. Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, Alderson-Broaddus, hail."