University of the Arts in Philadelphia abruptly closes

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the situation at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Philadelphia’s University of the Arts will close its doors at the end of the week amid financial trouble, the school announced, abruptly ending programs for its about 1,100 students and 700 faculty and staff.

Many students and faculty first got word of the closure Friday via the Philadelphia Inquirer, with an official explanation from the school being released later that day and confirmed Sunday.

“With deepest sadness, we must confirm that University of the Arts will close on June 7, 2024,” university leadership said Sunday. “Under extraordinary circumstances, we diligently assessed the urgent crisis presented and pathways to keep the institution open. Despite our best efforts, we could not ultimately identify a viable path for the institution to remain open and in the service of its mission.”

The university said the Inquirer breaking the news was unintentional, due to the school’s accreditation organization making an announcement before school leadership could themselves. In the Friday statement, leadership said it would assist students in transferring to nearby Philadelphia universities including Temple and Drexel, among others.

Founded as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in 1876, the University of the Arts is one of the country’s oldest arts colleges.

President Kerry Walk told the Inquirer that the university’s 700 staff will be laid off.

“We find ourselves in this heartbreaking situation that is unimaginable to all of us and extremely difficult for all of us who love this very, very special university community,” she said.

“We know that the news of UArts’ closure comes as a shock,” leadership said Friday. “Like you, we are struggling to make sense of the present moment. But like many institutions of higher learning, UArts has been in a fragile financial state, with many years of declining enrollments, declining revenues, and increasing expenses.”

“Unfortunately, however, we could not overcome the ultimate challenge we faced: with a cash position that has steadily weakened, we could not cover significant, unanticipated expenses,” they continued. “The situation came to light very suddenly. Despite swift action, we were unable to bridge the necessary gaps.”

Faced with rising expenses due to needed infrastructure repairs, lacking grants and gifts and enrollment that had nearly halved from a decade earlier, the school was in a cash crunch, Walk said.

The University of the Arts had an operating loss of $12 million on total revenue of $63 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to its audited financial statement reviewed by the Inquirer.

The closure adds to financial stresses faced by similar arts schools across the country. Within Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts — the country’s oldest arts school — announced earlier this year that it will end its degree programs after the next school year. The San Francisco Art Institute, a similarly storied institution, also announced its closure in 2022.

Updated at 1:57 p.m.