Last Friday, the University of arts in Philadelphia announced that it would closure of June 7. THE Philadelphia Inquirer indicated that a sharp drop in registrations left the school for almost 150 years in a financial crisis so deep that the accreditation agency suddenly withdrawn its charter.
Many students and teachers discovered through the InvestigatorUniversity coverage received an email until the university an hour later. Lauryn RuffA junior currency in the dance program, said she thought it was a false article at first.
“The way it happened was a full shock,” explains a longtime modern dance teacher Curt Haworthwhich was once part of the school's financing committee. He says that most of the faculty members knew that the school was in “difficult straits”, but they were all blinded by the extent of the financial crisis.
“We thought we were going to have a loss of $ 2 million, which is quite typical – many schools enter a deficit at this time of year, while waiting for the tuition fees for next year,” he said. “But this year, suddenly, it was $ 12 million.”
The members of the faculty who have been teaching at school for years are now suddenly unemployed. “I am a 60 -year -old teacher in an aged field,” said Haworth. “I don't know what I'm going to do. But I worry more of my students. ”
The faculty of the dance school and Dean Donna Faye Burchfield remained in close contact with the students. Other dance services in colleges such as Drexel University, Temple University, Point Park University, George Mason and Muhlenberg College reopened in 2024 specifically for Uarts students. Ruff says that she is in contact with a few programs, but it is not a way she can't wait to follow.
“The Uarts dance school, in particular, is so special and a place so sure for me and so many other students,” she says. “We all really try to keep the hope that something will happen.”
Students and teachers are still fighting to keep the school open. Senior dance major Catherine Bauermann had a lawyer assembled a e-mail That people can send to elected representatives, whose contacts they have collected. New graduate Polished aleesha Participated in demonstrations on the campus steps – when it does not help to pack studio equipment to send to the American Dance Festival, because nothing can be left in the Uarts buildings.
One possibility: Inquirer reports This Temple University now explores a potential merger. However, Bauermann said they were told that this would probably not include the programming or the Uarts staff. They now plan to start freelance rather than finish their diploma in another school. “I have a great fear that spending in my last year, instead of being this warm and magnificent experience, it could be the right community for me,” they say.
Composing fears and frustrations is the perception that university administration has not been to come with information. A Monday town hall which was supposed to offer answers was canceled 10 minutes before the start and the president of the university Kerry Walk resigned the day after.
Several people contacted for this story say that the greatest loss is the community favored by the school, which has fueled a certain number of dance companies in Philadelphia and has been a creative incubator with deep roots in the city.
“It's our house,” said Kim Bears-BaileyMember of the faculty, former Uarts, and artistic director of Philadanco. “We love this institution. It's our family and it's worth it to be saved. It is more than just a building. ”
