An urgent fundraising appeal late last year had appeared to save Judson College, but declining enrollment and wary creditors sealed the historic school’s fate. After 183 years of operation, the Baptist-affiliated college will file for bankruptcy protection and will not reopen for the fall semester, BaptistNews.com reported. College trustees made what they called a “heartbreaking” decision May 6, two days after one of the school’s creditors called the note on a loan that could not be repaid. Additionally, only 12 new students had enrolled for the fall 2021 semester, officials said, adding to the woes of declining enrollment for the all-female school located in Marion, Ala. In April, trustees had approved a 2021-2022 budget, based on confidence the board and administration had in support of “new significant donors to help close the college’s operating deficit,” a school news release explained. In December 2020, Judson officials issued an urgent appeal to donors, explaining the school needed to raise $1.5 million in gifts and pledges to remain open for the spring 2021 semester. President Mark Tew wrote a one-page letter outlining the school’s dire financial situation. He said the school must obtain $500,000 in donations by Dec. 31 and another $1 million in unrestricted pledges to be fulfilled between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2021. By the start of 2021, that appeal appeared to have been successful. The college reported that donors gave $27,665 more than the $500,000 required by year-end and made $584,065 in pledges toward the $1 million needed by May 31. Plans were laid for a full academic year beginning in fall 2021. Inside Higher Education reported that the college raised more than $2.53 million in the academic year just ended.
