Save Memphis College of Art? Group trying to keep art school open

A core group of artists and professionals has been organizing to keep open Memphis College of Art despite the school's October decision to close by May 2020.

Their "Save Memphis College of Art" online petition had drawn more than 3,000 signature clicks on change.org by Thursday. But the group has been meeting on Monday nights for months, planning a more substantial effort than the digital petitioning of the college board and other stakeholders.

The private college's trustees voted Oct. 10 to close because of dropping enrollment, $7 million in real estate debt and a relatively small endowment of under $5 million (For comparison, the Rhodes College endowment was $318 million in 2016, according to U.S. News & World Report).

More: Citing declining enrollment and real estate debt, Memphis College of Art announces impending closure

More: Memphis College of Art selling a dozen buildings

MCA alum, jeweler and silversmith Tootsie Bell started the petition and leads Save MCA. Bell is working to establish the group as a nonprofit organization. She identified other board members as: Anton Mack, an executive and entrepreneur; Ginger Whelan, president of Whelan Associates; photographer and former chief financial officer Andrea Zucker; and Christine Todd, a former MCA admissions director.

Keep strengths, shed weaknesses

"We would expand on the things that worked and get rid of the things that didn't,'' Bell responded when asked what she and her colleagues can do that college officials have not already tried.

"We are fortunate that we are not limited to the constraints of the current situation and because of that, we have had the time and resources to build a financially sustainable model,'' Bell said.

The school remains headquartered in Rust Hall in Overton Park, but is selling the 11 properties it owns nearby, just south of Poplar, to help pay its debts.

Two options

Save MCA will soon make public the details of its plan, Bell said. But basically, the group will have two approaches.

One assumes being given the opportunity to take over the school in about a year with about 145 students after all real estate except Rust Hall is sold and the debt is eliminated.

If that scenario is not an option, Save MCA plans to renew the college from scratch at another location, Belll said.

"Our commitment is to have a higher-education arts institution in Memphis, hopefully "Memphis College of Art,'' she said.

Sweet Briar's example

Save MCA takes inspiration from what happened recently at Sweet Briar College. The board of that private women's college near Lynchburg, Va., moved to close in spring 2015 because of financial stress. Alumnae and friends rallied, raised more than $44 million over three years. They kept the school open but still face challenges, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Upon hearing news of the MCA decision in October, Bell recalled, "The first thing I did was call my sister who had attended Sweet Briar ... From there I started my Save MCA Facebook group, had alumni meetings, met with (MCA interim president Laura Hine) and her cabinet and began reaching out to everyone and anyone I could that felt the same as I did: That we had to try to do something.''

Save MCA plans to launch a fund-raising campaign to raise at least $10 million to $20 million. "Part of the $20 million is absorbing the crisis of transition, recruiting students, etc,'' Bell said. "To end up with a $10 million endowment we'll need to raise $20 million.''

The college needs a broader donor base instead of a relatively few, big financial contributors that supported the school in recent years, Bell said.

Save MCA would also have the school engage more with the community: Inviting the public to art exhibits and speaker series; perhaps having a cafe for Overton Park visitors; and doing more community outreach, Bell said.

'All ears'

MCA's Hine met twice with Save MCA leaders in November.

"I speak for the administration and board: If Save MCA can come forth with a viable plan, fully funded and fully committed, of course we're all ears,'' Hine said. "... But it has to be commitments from individuals or foundations in writing for us to be able to reverse course.''

Even since October's stunning announcement, the administration has tried without success to establish a rescue plan in some ways similar to the one envisioned by Save MCA: Shedding the liabilities and building on the strengths.

Hine and her cabinet calculated that a bare minimum of $2.5 million yearly in donations for at least five to seven years would be necessary for a plan in which MCA would:

Contain itself entirely within Rust Hall; be debt free; reduce degree programs to those that preserve fine arts foundational skills; grow or keep intact the enrollment; and re-invest in community ed programs.

The bare-minimum plan neither addresses deferred maintenance on Rust Hall nor builds the endowment.

"It's not people saying 'I promise to give you $10 a month','' Hine said. "It's got to be people with wherewithal in the philanthropic history...

"You don't monkey around with kids' lives and with kids who receive federal financial aid and are taking out loans for their education.''

As of a few days ago, the plan had failed to draw the donor commitment needed.

"I'm a never-say-die kind of person,'' Hine said. "... That's why I say if you come to us with a viable plan and want to sit down we say sure, we're open to discussing it.

"It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they came forward with a viable plan. It would make my heart sing. But without that I don't give (Save MCA) much hope of changing anything.''

She cited a harsh statistic that must be addressed if fund-raising is to become more broad-based. Historically, less than 4 percent of MCA alumni make a financial donation to the school.

Hine also cited the nation's harsh environment for small, private liberal arts colleges: They're failing this decade at a rate three times faster than in previous decades.

Scope of loss

"When I first heard the announcement I felt like I had gotten the news of the death of a dear friend,'' Bell said in an email response to questions. "It was sheer shock and disbelief. Anger and heartbreak.''

Save Memphis College of Art may seem quixotic, but the stakes motivate Bell, a native of Senatobia, Miss.

She says the school "saved'' her life by giving her a home, family and community she had not experienced before.

But she feels the loss to the city would be far greater.

"Because it would be a tragic and devastating loss to Memphis and the South to lose this historical, world-class art college that transforms the lives of so many,'' she said.

"It will be a loss to the talent of local businesses. It will be a loss to the economic revenue of our city,'' she said.

"Having a higher education institution in Overton Park has brought safety and stability to the park and the surrounding neighborhood and that now is potentially in jeopardy," Bell said.

What's next

The next steps for Save MCA will be raising money for the financial plan and connecting with more "viable stakeholders.''

Meanwhile, the college will stay focused on supporting its remaining 249 students, helping them to graduate by May 2020 or to transfer to another school.

"Our unwavering commitment is to our existing students,'' Hine said.

The college projects its enrollment will drop to 145 students by this fall and to 70 students by fall 2019.

The Save MCA effort is a "wonderful sentiment,'' said Hine, adding, "But it really, really comes down to numbers and financial support.''