Cazenovia College closing could boost SUNY Oneonta
Dec. 8—The closing of an upstate college could mean more students coming to Oneonta.
Cazenovia College, a private college in Madison County, announced its closing in a media release Wednesday. It will cease operations after the spring 2023 semester.
"After much deliberation, the Cazenovia College Board of Trustees has determined that due to financial concerns, the College will not be enrolling students for the 2023-2024 academic year," the release said. The release said the college is working toward closure prior to the start of the Fall 2023 semester, will complete the Fall 2022 semester as scheduled and will be fully operational in the spring, holding classes and events, including athletics and other normally scheduled activities. During the spring 2023 semester the college will assist students with their plans for transferring for Fall 2023.
The release said Cazenovia has entered into agreements with several higher education institutions "that will provide pathways for students to continue their studies beginning with the Fall 2023 semester and will be assisting students with their transition."
SUNY Oneonta is among those institutions.
"Academic administrators at Cazenovia College and SUNY Oneonta have worked closely on a plan to facilitate a smooth transfer for Cazenovia students who wish to attend Oneonta," Eileen Morgan-Zayachek, SUNY Oneonta's acting vice president for academic affairs, said in an emailed statement. "We will continue to work with Cazenovia's leadership in the coming months to ensure that students interested in transferring have customized support for continuing their educations in Oneonta's degree programs and integrating into our campus community."
"SUNY Oneonta has a long history of serving transfer students. We look forward to working with and supporting Cazenovia students during this transition," said Karen Brown, SUNY Oneonta's senior enrollment officer and executive director of admissions.
Cazenovia officials cited finances as the reason for the closure.
"We're deeply disappointed that it has come to this," said Ken Gardiner, chair of the Cazenovia College Board of Trustees. "Considerable time and effort have been spent on improving the College's financial position over the past several years. Unfortunately, the headwinds and market conditions were insurmountable, leading to a projected deficit of several million dollars for next year. As a result, the College won't have the funds necessary to be open and continue operations for Fall 2023 and beyond."
"The business realities that led to this extremely difficult decision were accelerated by the global pandemic and skyrocketing inflation," the release said. "The population of college-aged individuals has been and continues to shrink making it hard for small private colleges like Cazenovia to maintain enrollment levels. Since its peak with nearly 1,000 students on campus, Cazenovia's enrollment has dropped by over 40%."
Officials also cited the coronavirus pandemic as a factor, saying it "dramatically impacted recruitment and fundraising efforts while increasing economic burdens" for the college.
Recent uncertainty in the bond and stock markets were a factor, as well. "Being a small college without a large endowment has made the College's challenges formidable. We have worked tirelessly to strengthen the financial position of the College through fundraising campaigns, adding graduate offerings, streamlining transfer pathways, and exploring alternative options," said David Bergh, president of Cazenovia College. "Unfortunately, these efforts did not create results to ensure long-term viability for the College."
Cazenovia College was established in 1824 as the Genesee Seminary.
Other institutions listed as having transfer agreements with Cazenovia are Daemen University, Elmira College, Excelsior University, Hilbert College, Keuka College, LeMoyne College, Utica University and Wells College. Officials said more colleges will be added.
