Judson College is issuing a statement saying the college is not closed and business operations are continuing
Daphne Robinson, the president of Judson College, sent a letter to the school’s alumni on Friday morning, saying the college is not closed and remains an operational business, although no classes have been held since July 2021.
The letter came in response to an article published Thursday night about Thursday night’s passage of a bill that would create the Revolving Loan Program Fund for distressed higher education institutions, which would support struggling public and private colleges in the state. The article, published on AL.com, said Judson College closed in 2022 and, unlike Birmingham Southern College, has not asked the state for assistance.
READ MORE: Alabama Distressed Institutions Bill likely to pass
“The program, approved until 2027, is intended to help Birmingham-Southern, but could theoretically help other struggling colleges in Alabama,” reads the AL.com article. “It’s not clear if anyone has reached out to lawmakers for help. Officials say Judson College, which closed in 2022, has not asked for government support.”
Robinson said the college sent the media outlet a response claiming the last sentence was incorrect.
“Please note that this statement is false,” Robinson stated in her response, which was then forwarded to the school’s alumni. “Judson College has not closed. It has ceased holding classes effective July 2021, but remains operational. In addition, Judson College has reached out to state officials for financial support.”
According to the letter, the school had written correspondence and some oral conversations with several state officials, including people from the governor’s office, the Alabama House of Representatives, the Alabama Senate, ADECA and state finance.
Robinson said Judson College continues to seek financial support from the state and hopes to hold meetings with state legislators and governor’s office officials.
Judson College still has an active website, but no news has been released since August 2021, when the Board of Trustees voted to close the 183-year-old facility.
Robinson clarified that the college is not currently in bankruptcy proceedings.
“SB278 is so new that Judson is attempting to navigate it to see if there is any benefit to the college,” Robinson said in another statement Friday afternoon. “The goal of today’s email to our graduates was to reassure them that Judson did in fact apply for government assistance and asked AL.com to correct his story.”
