Penn remains one of few Philadelphia-area universities to not publicly extend support to students and staff affected by the abrupt closure of the University of the Arts, despite recently claiming that being an “excellent Philadelphia neighbor” is essential to its mission.
In an email sent on May 31, UArts Board Chair Judson Aaron and President Kerry Walk gave the UArts community one week’s notice that the school would be permanently closing its doors. According to the statement, the board was forced to shut the university down due to “a cash position that has steadily weakened.”
In the days since the announcement was made, hundreds have protested the decision to close. Walk resigned on Tuesday amid accusations of failed accountability, a town hall was canceled on Monday mere moments before it was scheduled to take place, and a trustee revealed that $40 million in cash would have been needed to save the school.
In the initial statement, UArts wrote that they would “support our continuing students in their progress to degree by developing seamless transfer pathways” at nearby institutions — including Drexel University, Temple University, and Moore College of Art and Design.
It remains unclear what support, if any, Penn will offer. A University spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The DP cannot confirm if UArts sought assistance from these local schools, including Penn. A request for comment has been sent to UArts for clarification. An automatic reply to the request stated that UArts had been “working through the weekend to secure agreements with other colleges who are prepared to serve both our current and incoming students.”
Stuart Weitzman School of Design Dean Fritz Steiner wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that he is “just so sad about the closure.”
He added that he is currently unaware of any efforts for the School of Design to support students impacted by the closing. He wrote that, in being a graduate school, he does not think that the School of Design’s programs “align with theirs.”
The programs offered by Penn differ from those offered at UArts — and at the several other institutions that have offered their support.
UArts offered bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and certificate degrees in art, design, film, writing, dance, music, and theater programs. As an arts-focused institution, UArts did not previously offer traditional bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degrees.
In contrast, Penn does not offer BFA degrees, though it has a vibrant performing arts scene on campus. Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences includes majors in theatre arts, fine arts, cinema studies, and music, as well as a creative writing minor through the English Department.
Penn also offers a unique Digital Media Design program, which combines a bachelor of science degree from the School of Engineering and Applied Science with fine arts courses from the School of Design. However, Penn does not provide majors in many of the areas that UArts specializes in, such as musical theatre, cinematography, directing and theatrical production, and dance.
The School of Design is also largely focused on graduate studies, though undergraduates are eligible to take certain classes.
2017 UArts graduate Sienna Averett told the DP that Penn’s lack of response and public display of support is “really disappointing.”
“That’s another school that can help out these people who have nowhere to go,” she said. “Some of them were expecting to go to college and now they don’t have a place to go.”
On Tuesday afternoon, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Temple’s board chair is looking into a merger to save UArts from closing.
“I’m working with their chair to see if we can put this genie back in the bottle,” Mitchell Morgan, Temple’s board chair, told the Inquirer. “Can we somehow figure out some type of potential merger? If it’s a win-win, we are interested.”
Temple had previously announced that they would work to help support UArts students who were interested in transferring to Temple.
“We can’t wait to help you join our community. Our intent is to make the path to enrollment at Temple seamless and transparent,” the website reads. “More information will be posted soon.”
Drexel President John Fry wrote in a statement that Drexel leadership has been in contact with administrators at UArts to offer “assistance to the UArts community and especially the students who can no longer continue their studies at the institution.”
“We have already reached out to current students, first-year students and many high school counselors, and are committed to making enrolling at Drexel for these students as seamless and welcoming as possible,” Fry wrote. “In addition, we are expanding our 50 percent tuition discount program for community college partners to UArts undergraduate students interested in attending Drexel.”
Drexel also launched a “UArts-Drexel Pathway” following the news that UArts would be closing. The university will offer individualized admissions counseling to prospective students and has waived all application fees for UArts students.
Moore College has also announced a similar “FastTrack” process for UArts students to transfer to Moore. Under the expedited process, UArts students will not need to fill out an application for Moore. All previously earned UArts credits will also count at Moore.
“Moore is financially healthy, thanks to an endowment per student that is ranked among the top 18% in the country, an annual budget surplus for the past 23 years and continuous investment in our campus and facilities,” the Moore website reads.
As of Wednesday afternoon, several other schools in the region had also offered support for UArts students displaced by the closure.
The list includes Point Park University in Pittsburgh, which will offer automatic acceptance and free housing for up to 75 UArts students, according to a press release. Thomas Jefferson University is waiving application fees, and La Salle University will implement a program to ensure that UArts students transferring to La Salle “will not pay more to earn a degree at La Salle than they were paying at UArts.”
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