Pine Manor College In Chestnut Hill Struggles Amid Coronavirus

BROOKLINE, MA — The future of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill is in question, as the school struggles to adjust finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"No one predicted coronavirus, and for already vulnerable institutions such as Pine Manor, these things are scary," College President Thomas O'Reilly told Patch. "We're going to do our very best to persist."

O'Reilly said the financial situation at the small school had been looking up, when the pandemic shut down the revenue stream. So, he reached out to the state in late March to see what could be done. On Monday, the New England Commission of Higher Education and the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education said in a joint statement with the school that they were working together to help the college stabilize its finances.

The commission said the college’s accreditation may be in jeopardy if the current financial conditions continue or worsen.

So, the department of higher education is working with the school to ensure that if the school can't sustain full operations in the next year and a half, students will be able to transfer to another school and both the commission and the department are working with the school to put a shut down plan in place as a contingency.

"Owing to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the College’s financial situation has become uncertain, such that it cannot confirm that it can sustain full operations at the current levels beyond the current academic year," reads the joint statement posted to The New England Commission of Higher Education website.

The school has not laid off anybody, according to O'Reilly. Classes, mentoring and tutoring have continued online and by phone. There are a number students living on campus through this because they have no other home to go to, he said. Those students are also finishing their courses online to ensure social distancing.

"We fill a very important niche in terms of who we serve. We're trying to live our values, and we recognize we can't do it all on our own, we've always known that, and we've always been proud to ask for help — because we believe in what we're doing."

For the past four years, Pine Manor College has served a population that is 85 percent students of color, 84 percent first generation in the families to attend college, 80 percent low-income, and 50 percent multi-lingual and more than 90 percent of students have found employment or been able to enroll in advanced studies upon graduation, according to the school.

In 2017 Brookline eyed buying or taking part of the campus by eminent domain to build a ninth elementary school in town. At that time President of Pine Manor College Thomas O'Reilly said he would not consider selling even part of the land. He was optimistic about the school's future.

"The College has graduated our students at four times the national average for the demographic we serve," according to O'Reilly, "The College’s enrollment, retention, fundraising, and finances have shown remarkable strength as Pine Manor College has been innovative in generating diverse revenues streams to fund the College and student learning at an affordable price."

For the past several years many small liberal arts colleges, including schools like Newbury and Mount Ida, have been under financial stress forcing them to close or make major adjustments. The pandemic, which has forced schools to move classes online or close temporarily, appears to be exacerbating the issues.

Pine Manor was originally the post secondary division of Dana Hall School. It was accredited in 1939 and offers nine baccalaureate majors, 30 minors, and a Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

"The community we're in has been generous to us in the past, if folks have the wherewithal to invest in us we would welcome it. You invest when it's needed and this is a great time to make those investments, said O'Reilly.

In 2018, Brookline's Newbury College announced it would close, citing financial issues.

Read the full joint statement here.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).