Just two weeks ago, the school was reporting a financial crisis and now this. Looks like they weren’t kidding.
Mirror Indy reports:
Martin University trustees announce college will close permanentlyThree weeks after announcing a “pause in operations,” Martin University’s board of trustees announced in a letter published in the Indianapolis Recorder that the college is closing its doors for good.Effective Dec. 31, Martin University voluntarily gave up its accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission. Accreditation is the process of evaluating a university for both quality of education and management. In addition, losing accreditation means Martin as a university is now ineligible for federal financial aid.According to the letter, published Dec. 31, the Higher Learning Commission directed Martin to cease operations after the university initially announced the temporary pause in mid-December. The Higher Learning Commission did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.Because of that directive and a lack of funds, “Martin has had no choice but to move toward closure,” the letter states, in part.This move comes after a tumultuous month for the eastside college. Founded in 1977, it was Indiana’s only predominantly Black university. On Dec. 9, Martin’s board of trustees announced it would “temporarily pause” operations due to financial problems and low enrollment.The university did not announce a reopening date. Less than a week later, on Dec. 15 the university terminated nearly all its staff, saying it could not pay them.In response, members of the alumni association, led by association president Dwight McGill, called for the removal of board chair Joseph Perkins at a Dec. 17 news conference.In the letter published in the Recorder, the trustees said they recognize the grief Martin’s closure has caused but called for “civility in both public and private discourse.”“Personal attacks do not honor Martin’s mission or legacy,” the letter said, in part. “The decision to close the university was made by the full Board of Trustees, collectively. The board chair and executive committee have led with integrity under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and unfair targeting of any one individual must stop.”
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