wfn.org | Task force to assess 'survivability' of Mary Holmes

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Note #7041 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

02-February-2002
02052

Task force to assess 'survivability' of Mary Holmes

Group will advise whether college merits continued support

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - A task force has been appointed to help the Presbyterian Church (USA) decide whether it makes financial sense to continue supporting beleaguered Mary Holmes College.

The three-member "work group" will make a recommendation to the National Ministries Division Committee (NMDC) and Mission Support Services (MSS) in June. Its assignment was approved Friday by the PC(USA)'s General Assembly Council (GAC) during its winter meeting here. The suggestion came from NMDC.

The task force's recommendation may be an important factor in PC(USA) officials' decision whether to continue pumping money from the denomination's annual Christmas Joy Offering into the two-year racial-ethnic college in West Point, MS. 

The loss of the church's contribution, which is $286,560 for this year, could threaten the survival of the institution, whose financial health has been compromised in recent years by declining enrollment and deterioration of the college's physical plant.

"My general impression is that Mary Holmes College continues to be (financially) fragile," said the Rev. Duncan Ferguson, associate director of the PC(USA) Office of Higher Education, "but its staff and supporters are dedicated to moving the college toward ... stability."

Church officials wouldn't comment on the likelihood that the PC(USA) will withdraw its support for Mary Holmes if the task force finds that its prospects are poor.

Ferguson said the college is about $2 million in debt, and is seeking a loan of at least that amount from a regional institution. Such a loan would enable school officials to refinance its indebtedness and buy time for a possible turnaround, he said.

Ferguson said the college has been hurt by reports of less-than-adequate leadership and rumors that it might be forced to close.

"Efforts are under way to restore a more positive image of the college by stressing its long and distinguished history, its current place with the West Point community ... and its crucial mission to an under-served population," Ferguson told the National Ministries committee.

The members of the task force will be Peter J. Pizor, of Henderson, NV, representing MSS, and two representatives of NMDC - Joe W. Rigsby, of Jacksonville, FL, and Donald W. Robinson, of Hot Springs Village, AR. The NMDC vote to create the task force was unanimous. 

Ferguson, who visited Mary Holmes College last month, told NMDC that the school is working on several fronts to increase revenues and provide for its long-term financial stability.

He said the college is struggling to regain scholastic accreditation and has been hampered in its efforts to meet its obligations because, as a non-accredited institution, it is not eligible for money from federal financial-aid programs. He said he is hopeful that college officials will be able to solve that problem soon.

Ferguson said Mary Holmes has about 275 students this year, a little under its goal of 300, but seems to have avoided its usual spring-semester enrollment decline.

"They lost a few (students), and gained a few," Ferguson said during the NMDC meeting. "That's a very good sign."

College leaders plan to "partner" with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation in a deferred-giving program, Ferguson said, and are planning to launch a capital campaign after devising a strategic plan to improve the school's "precarious" financial situation. He said a senior-level Mary Holmes officer is trying to secure grants from government and private sources.

He said Mary Holmes hopes to add funds-development staff; is cultivating support in its local community; and is planning new academic programs in computer technology.

Questions about the use of Christmas Joy Offering funds to support Mary Holmes appeared on church executives' radar screen at least two years ago, when a GAC leadership team met with Ferguson and others to discuss the college's financial predicament.

Doubt was expressed then about the school's ability "to continue as a financially viable institution, and Ferguson was instructed to send a letter to Mary Holmes President Nathaniel Jackson explaining that the GAC must be a good steward of Christmas Joy Offering funds, some of which goes to support the eight Presbyterian-related racial-ethnic schools and colleges.

Jackson was assured that the portion of the offering already promised to the college would be sustained through the 2001-2002 academic year, but was warned that Mary Holmes would have to show "measurable progress" to continue receiving funds.

In other Presbyterian-related college news, Ferguson said:

* Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska, is in improved financial condition and continues to improve. While Sheldon Jackson did not meet its goal of increasing enrollment by 100 students, but was able to recruit 50, half of them Alaskans.

* Knoxville College expects to achieve accreditation soon, and is awaiting news from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE).
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