Editorial
The Times Union published an article on April 15 about the possibility of Touro University exploring a partnership with the College of Saint Rose in order to keep the college open in some form. According to the Times Union, Touro University President Dr. Alan Kadish confirmed that the schools had “preliminary exploratory discussions” about a merger, but in the earliest version of the story online there were no sources or quotes from any Saint Rose officials about this information.
Around 4 p.m., Jeffrey Stone, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, sent an email to all students, staff and faculty regarding the article. In the email, Stone stated, “Trustees have pledged to respect requests for confidentiality from interested parties.” It was also stated that the school is still planning on closing after the summer session of classes on June 21. Shortly after the email was sent, the Times Union edited and updated their article so it included Stone’s email and also had quotes from Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, stating there had been months of collaboration discussions, which is at odds with Kadish’s quote as the discussions being “preliminary.”
The Times Union article gave a glimmer of false hope to many students and staff, both those that have already left the college and those still here and wondering about their futures. Despite the attention-getting headline, which also appeared on the front page of the Times Union on April 16, the article was scarce on actual facts and details that would lead one to believe that something may happen in time to save Saint Rose.
The lack of transparency by the administration has been an unfortunate and consistent theme throughout this semester, despite their protestations to the contrary. One consequence, as the news of the closing and this latest Times Union story shows, is that it forces the administration to be reactive rather than proactive with campus and community stakeholders.
The Times Union article, as limited as it was, seemed to hold a hope of a lifeline to the college–only to have that glimmer of hope pulled away by Stone’s email that said no, the school is still closing. It raises more questions regarding what, exactly, is being negotiated with Touro or other schools, and what the sticking points are in the negotiations besides some of the larger regulatory issues mentioned in the article.
Many students read the original article and could not believe what they were reading. It feels as if this has become a joke and that information we are being given has become twisted mind games at this point. This not only confuses the campus community but is laughably similar to how the closure was announced to students and employees in the fall. With that in mind, it is not out of the realm of possibility to believe that the same publication would be the one to tell the Saint Rose community that the college may actually be staying open.
If the board of trustees and president had wanted to work diligently and work hard to keep this so-called “Home away from home” alive they could have released this information much sooner as well as showed more compassion and sympathy to students and staff.
A big question is WHY, especially directed to the Times Union. Why would you give students false hope with an article that was weak on actual details and facts, and then edit your story after the college released a statement to make it seem like the story is more than it actually contains? Will the publishing of this article kill the discussions with Touro, as President Marcia White claimed would happen when announcing the school closure last fall and saying that is one reason they kept such discussions with potential partners secret for months on end?
Once again, we’re left with more questions than answers.
