On April 14, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced that its Board of Trustees (BOT) voted to permanently close the school at the end of the fall 2026 semester. A message from Hampshire College President Jennifer Chrisler and the BOT said that the decision came after determining that “the College no longer has the resources to sustain full operations.”
According to Chrisler, the school has spent the last seven years working “aggressively” to tackle financial pressures. Increasing enrollment and refinancing existing debt were some of the ways Hampshire tried to achieve a stable financial foundation, support long-term operations and meet regulatory requirements.
“We are faced with the clear, heartbreaking reality that progress on each of these three key factors has fallen far short of what we had hoped,” Chrisler wrote.
Founded in 1965, Hampshire College sought to “radically reimagine liberal arts education.” The school implemented a student-designed curriculum, focused on personalized work and hands-on experience to provide an education. Students did not advance in traditional college cohorts like freshman and sophomore years—they advanced through a “Divisional” structure, moving on by creating and passing portfolio reviews. There was no typical grading system, instead opting for written feedback from faculty members.
To alumni, students and faculty of New College of Florida, this structure might sound very familiar.
New College of Florida prior to its political takeover was very similar to Hampshire in its approach to education. New College’s former mission statement read in part that it would offer a liberal arts education with a “distinctive academic program which develops the student’s intellectual and personal potential as fully as possible.”
In 2023, New College and Hampshire grew closer together at a time when the stability of the Florida school was in jeopardy. In the early stages of the “takeover,” Hampshire offered admission to all New College students in good academic standing—even matching the lower costs of tuition for incoming transfers.
Now, some New College students turned Hampshire students have found themselves in the unique position of saying goodbye to their alma mater for a second time.
“The people are what makes Hampshire, Hampshire,” graduating Hampshire student and New College transfer Shawna Itakura said. “It is a beautiful place and I’m definitely grieving the loss of an alma mater. But I’m also proud to say I don’t think I wasted any time at Hampshire.”
The attached deleted scene from documentary “First They Came for My College” shows former New College student Libby Harrity settling into life at Hampshire as their partner Emma Curtis visits from Florida. The scene is meant to commemorate a distinct campus in the American university landscape and what the space meant for students facing an unsettling time in US higher education.
