Notre Dame de Namur University’s historic Ralston Hall.
Saddened to hear Notre Dame de Namur University is struggling to the point of considering closing, community leaders want to help, but say university officials aren’t being receptive.
Details about the school’s financial challenges and the possibility of closing were initially announced in October of 2019 in a report by the Board of Trustees. The report was published at a time when the university was looking for a president to replace Judith Maxwell Greig, who retired.
That month, eight community leaders, including alumni, penned a letter to the board of trustees asking to be included in the process of selecting a new interim and permanent president and also offered to help guide the university into the future. The letter was signed by state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo; Belmont Vice Mayor Charles Stone; County Manager Mike Callagy; Redwood City Councilwoman Alicia Aguirre; former San Mateo mayor Maureen Freschet; Mario Rendon, district director for Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco; Amy Buckmaster, president and CEO Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce; and Rosanne Foust, president and CEO of the San Mateo County Economic Development Association.
“The process of selecting an interim and permanent new president will take a village and the village is here and respectfully requesting that you include us,” the letter states. “Many institutions, private and public, have needed to re-invent themselves and this is the time in your history — as the third oldest educational institution in the state — to do just that and become the university that educates the future leaders on the Peninsula.
“We welcome an opportunity to sit down with the board to discuss our thoughts and ideas in greater detail,” the letter continues. “We hope you will take us up on the offer.”
NDNU did not take them up on the offer and didn’t even respond to the letter, said Foust, who earned a master’s degree from the university in 2002.
“The Board of Trustees has been tone-deaf and nonexistent,” Foust said. “The letter signatories all work in the county, we’re good about getting things done. Why wouldn’t you use the collective wisdom of people wanting to help?
“It’s been frustrating. It really makes me sad,” she added. “I get goose bumps when I think about the way we’ve been treated.”
NDNU spokeswoman Karen Schornstein said in a statement the university welcomes communication with local partners and noted the aforementioned report by the Board of Trustees as well as a follow-up report published last week have been made public and available to city officials and other community partners.
“We welcome communication with local partners,” she said, adding that no final decisions have been made as to the future of the university. “As soon as we have more final decisions, we will reach out to local officials.”
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Speaking of the challenges facing NDNU, Foust said the Board of Trustees has “given up,” adding that she wished the university had reached out for help long ago.
“I feel like this board has given up,” she said. “It’s OK to ask for help, there’s nothing wrong with that. If I have a problem, I call someone.”
Foust and the other letter signatories expressed deep appreciation for NDNU, its history and its importance to the community moving forward. All want to do everything they can to avoid closure.
“It would be a terrible loss for our community,” Hill said. “It’s a wonderful, historic four-year institution in our county. It has represented us extremely well, providing an excellent higher education for many of our residents and has created a lot of success for the students and the people who reside in San Mateo County. It would be a terrible loss if they were to close.
“It would be a shame for the university to move forward with closing without having a broader conversation with the community about the struggles and opportunities that could be available,” he added.
Stone echoed the sentiments of both Hill and Foust.
“I’m deeply saddened by the news and deeply disappointed that I and other local leaders who reached out to NDNU to try to be helpful were roundly ignored,” he said. “I hope the university remains open to creative solutions and reaches out to us to begin a dialogue.”
Stone feels California is in need of more public universities and said NDNU should at least explore doing “something involving the state.”
According to a Board of Trustees’ October report, NDNU has an endowment of $25.1 million, an operating budget of $29.5 million and a projected operating deficit of $4.3 million in fiscal year 2020.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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