"Oakland City University said in a statement on its Facebook page that it is “suspending” its undergraduate classes for the upcoming academic year. “Our online graduate programs will continue to operate during this time,” the university said. “In addition, the University will continue efforts to sell the carbon capture patent, with the hope of reopening once those efforts are successful.” The announcement ties the reopening plan to selling the patent while undergraduate instruction is paused."
"That patent was one of a few ways the institution said it was seeking to solve its financial issues as employees missed their May 8 paychecks and the university told the state it plans to lay them all off June 1. When the university issued the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice on April 1, it listed 167 employees. But Todd Mosby, the university's associate vice president of advancement, development, marketing and communications, told Inside Higher Ed Friday that employees have since left."
"Carbon capture—the technology the university is banking on, which seeks to stop carbon dioxide created by burning fossil fuels from entering the atmosphere—has for decades failed to become a large-scale, commercially viable way to alleviate climate concerns. The university’s Tuesday announcement made no mention of the previously touted “strategic partnership” planned with an unnamed donor company, which Mosby had earlier announced could keep the institution open."
"Tuesday's update also didn't say whether another unnamed donor company's money had come through to pay the workers, as university officials had repeatedly said would happen. Mosby didn't immediately return requests for more information early Tuesday evening. The university had 640 students as of fall 2024, according to the most recent Education Department data available."
Oakland City University in Indiana announced it is suspending undergraduate classes for the upcoming academic year. Online graduate programs will continue operating during the suspension. The university will continue efforts to sell a carbon capture patent, aiming to reopen once those efforts succeed. The financial crisis included missed May 8 paychecks and a plan to lay off employees June 1 after issuing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice listing 167 employees. Carbon capture has not become a large-scale commercially viable solution for reducing climate impacts. The update did not mention a previously planned strategic partnership with an unnamed donor company, nor whether unnamed donor funds arrived to pay workers. The university reported 640 students as of fall 2024.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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