West Virginia college files for bankruptcy a month after announcing intentions to close
Aug 31, 2023, 3:30 PM | Updated: 4:06 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A small, private university in West Virginia declared bankruptcy on Thursday, a month after announcing that it planned to cease operations.
Alderson Broaddus University filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the state’s northern district. According to the filing, the university estimated it had between $1 million and $10 million in total assets, liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million and owed money to between 100 and 199 creditors.
The filing was signed by Alderson Broaddus interim president Andrea Bucklew. The Chapter 7 filing would allow the university to liquidate its assets. The campus community was notified of the decision, the university said in a statement.
Alderson Broaddus board chairman James Garvin said that the board “is grateful to the students, employees, alumni and donors who have embodied the Christian spirit of the University, and through them, the legacy of AB will live on.”
On July 31 the university’s Board of Trustees voted to develop a plan to disband after another board overseeing the state’s four-year colleges and universities revoked its ability to award degrees effective Dec. 31. The university said the revocation meant the school could have offered only limited classes to about 20 students this fall, and it forced the Baptist university’s 625 students on the Philippi campus to scramble to enroll at colleges elsewhere.
Other state universities, including West Virginia Wesleyan in nearby Buckhannon and Fairmont State University in Fairmont, offered application and transcript evaluation assistance to Alderson Broaddus students.
Student academic and financial records have been transferred to West Virginia Wesleyan, located about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from Alderson Broaddus. West Virginia Wesleyan will make transcripts and other information available to former Alderson Broaddus students.
Earlier in August West Virginia Wesleyan said it had accepted more than 20 transfer students from Alderson Broaddus.
Alderson Broadus said it had anticipated receiving an employee retention credit payment from the Internal Revenue Service of more than $1 million. However, the funds were not received in time.
The website of Alderson Broaddus was taken down Thursday and the school encouraged its employees to seek unemployment insurance benefits.
