By Bei Jia Viggiano ’28
Sports Editor
Hampshire College announced on Tuesday, April 14, that the institution will close after their 2026 Fall semester. The decision follows ongoing conversations regarding low student enrollment numbers, financial burdens and land assets. Hampshire’s Board of Trustees voted for the college’s closure in recognition of its inability to continue fully sustaining itself as an academic institution.
The concept of Hampshire can be traced back to 1958, when the presidents of Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and University of Massachusetts Amherst decided to build a curriculum that allowed students to design their program of study. The institution was founded in 1965 and welcomed its first cohort in 1970.
“Since its founding in 1965, Hampshire College has been home to a group of deeply curious, creative people who have radically reimagined the liberal arts, using a singular, distinctive model designed to change and respond to the most pressing issues facing society,” Hampshire College President Jenn Chrisler said in an announcement published on Hampshire’s official website. “We are committed to preserving this profound legacy and to ensuring that the story of Hampshire’s unique and audacious vision will continue to serve as an inspiration to bold, iconoclastic thinkers well into the future.”
Hampshire has arranged agreements with numerous colleges in order for current students to transfer to partner institutions, which include Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, UMass Amherst, Amherst College, the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, the Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts, Bennington College and Prescott College.
The closure of Hampshire has prompted much conversation regarding the future of liberal arts colleges, particularly small, progressive institutions. In recent years, the sustainability of such small, tuition-funded institutions has been difficult; some colleges have closed their doors, while others have merged or partnered with fellow institutions.
In 2019, a potential partnership between Hampshire and UMass Amherst was discussed, but ultimately was not enacted due to disagreements on the vision. Hampshire stood firm that they needed to maintain their name and values, while UMass Amherst set the condition that Hampshire would close and conduct major faculty layoffs. A recent instance of such a partnership or merger includes Mills College, which Northeastern University acquired in 2022, while a more historical example is Radcliffe College, formerly a Seven Sisters institution, which was fully incorporated into Harvard College in 1999.
“This is a difficult moment for the Hampshire community, and for all of us within the Five College Consortium,” President Danielle Holley said in an email sent to the Mount Holyoke community. “We are working closely with our partners in the Five Colleges to understand how best to support Hampshire students, faculty and staff in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, we are committed to the collaborative experience that defines the consortium and to supporting one another as a community.”
Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact-checking.