AURORA, NY (WENY) -- A small, private liberal arts college in the Finger Lakes region has announced it is shutting down at the end of the current semester.

Wells College, located in Aurora, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in Cayuga County, issued a statement of if its impending closure on Monday, citing financial difficulties, including declining enrollment.

The higher education institution was founded in 1868 as Wells Seminary, and was renamed Wells College in 1987. It served as a women's college from its beginning until 2005, when it came a co-ed institution.

In a statement published on the college's website, the school's board members spent years trying to find ways to raise revenues, in hopes of avoiding closure. 

Wells College becomes the third private college in upstate New York to announce its closure in recent years. Cazenovia College closed its doors in June of 2023, after announcing in December 2022 it would permanently close. The College of Saint Rose, a private Catholic college in Albany, will permanently shut down in June of 2024, citing financial difficulties.

You can read the entire statement from Wells College below: 

This is a difficult letter to write and an even more difficult letter to read and process. It is with profound sadness that we announce the forthcoming closure of our beloved Wells College at the end of this academic semester.

As trustees, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the institution; we have determined after a thorough review that the College does not have adequate financial resources to continue. As you may be aware, many small colleges like Wells have faced enormous financial challenges. These challenges have been exacerbated by a global pandemic, a shrinking pool of undergraduate students nationwide, inflationary pressures, and an overall negative sentiment towards higher education.

Members of the board, many of whom are Wells graduates, have spent years trying to find creative solutions to raise revenues in hopes of avoiding closure, including most recently having conversations with other academic partners. We acknowledge the work from all board members and college leaders, especially members of the Cabinet, our faculty, staff, and graduates on creating strategic plans, sponsoring aggressive fundraising campaigns, launching innovative new programs and managing our resources with care. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know. But revenues, unfortunately, are not projected to be sufficient for Wells’ long-term financial stability.

The Board is committed to the legacy and educational mission of Wells College. As such, we have entered into an agreement with Manhattanville University where it will become our preferred teach-out partner. This partnership further will help ensure that Wells’ current students matriculate and our institutional mission and legacy continue. Manhattanville is developing dedicated housing for Wells students and will be partners in supporting our students with transfer plans. Manhattanville has also expressed interest in developing a legacy agreement that would integrate the Wells College name and history into the Manhattanville community. We have developed additional teach-out agreements with these other teach-out partners: Excelsior University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Keuka College, Le Moyne College, Mercy University, SUNY Brockport.

In the coming hours and days, you will have questions, some of which can be answered immediately. We have created a website which lists additional information. We will continue to update this website and communicate with our stakeholders as we finalize plans for the closure of Wells.

The Board thanks all of our alumnae/alumni and friends who have supported the institution since its founding in 1868. Your support and generosity have allowed Wells to continue its mission of helping students think critically, reason wisely and act humanely.

Regards,

Marie Chapman Carroll, ‘75, Board Chair
Jonathan Gibralter, President