Hampshire and the Need for Experimental Colleges (opinion)

"Its troubles with sustaining enrollment and balancing a budget while delivering a rigorous, vibrant and unique interdisciplinary curriculum were well-known over the past decade. This slow process meant there were opportunities for Hampshire to forge a sustainable partnership with a larger, more stable institution. Unfortunately, the failure of such an arrangement speaks both to the need for more internal institutional flexibility and the unfortunate conformity that has set in across higher education."

"Hampshire College, founded in 1965, is, in many ways, the best-known member of the third wave of small, progressive, experimental colleges started in the late 1960s and early 1970s including Prescott College (1966); my institution, the Evergreen State College (1971); and the College of the Atlantic (1972). Previous waves in the mid-1800s (when Antioch, 1852, and Berea, 1855, were founded) and the early 1900s (Deep Springs College, 1917; Bennington College, 1932; Black Mountain College, 1933) coincided with periods of rapid political, social and technological change."

"These colleges are not just quirky; in each of these eras, they pushed the bounds of what education is, who it is for and how it should be taught. These institutions have been the research and development labs for the Ivy League and beyond. They helped develop and legitimize interdisciplinary fields, such as environmental science, Indigenous studies and media studies. They welcomed students to campus who were traditionally marginalized at mainstream institutions."

Hampshire College will close its doors this fall after years of difficulty sustaining enrollment and balancing budgets while maintaining a rigorous, vibrant, unique interdisciplinary curriculum. The slow decline limited chances to form a sustainable partnership with a larger, more stable institution, and the failure of that arrangement is linked to insufficient internal flexibility and conformity across higher education. Hampshire is a prominent example of the third wave of small, progressive, experimental colleges founded in the late 1960s and early 1970s, alongside other institutions. Earlier waves similarly emerged during periods of rapid political, social, and technological change. These colleges expanded what education could be, developed interdisciplinary fields, and welcomed students marginalized by mainstream institutions.

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