[Sly Fox]

From the fishwrap:

R-MWC to cut 15 percent of its staff

By Christa Desrets
cdesrets@newsadvance.com
June 25, 2007

Randolph-Macon Woman’s College will reduce about 15 percent of its staff, or 30 to 35 positions, effective immediately, the school announced this morning.

Included are full- and part-time positions, open positions that will not be filled and voluntary early retirements.

The school is examining its academic faculty positions as well, but has not made any decisions that will affect the upcoming school year, spokeswoman Brenda Edson said.

Click Here for Full Story

[Fumblerooskies]

For the uninitiated...this is all about a citation from SACS...the regional accrediting body. Seems many alumni reported the school to SACS when the school formerly known as R-MWC decided to go co-ed, citing financial concerns of staying women only. Thus, SACS investigated and unless RC gets the finances, with a sound plan, in order by the fall (or perhaps Jan), SACS could put them on probation. Another issue is a rather valuable ART collection, which the school is looking to sell. Even though they far exceeded their expected initial male enrollment figures...I fear it looks bleak for RC.

[El Scorcho]

So who dropped the ball over there? Was this inevitable or could have this been prevented had someone acted in time?

[PeterParker]

So how about LU taking advantage of the fire sale prices and scooping up some of that prized Art Collection...LU could use some cultural aesthetics like that.

And even though their campus is where it is, perhaps that would be a real estate play that LU could benefit from? Maybe for graduate school or a Medical School real estate play, or perhaps as an LU affiliated Junior College Campus?

Or maybe just own it and hold it for future appreciation value?

That would just irk RMWC graduates to no end, wouldn't it?

[LUconn]

It would make some nice apartments. As for the art collection, they already have buyers and I don't think we could out bid them. It supposedly is very valuable. (ie, they say the Walton's were in town to look at them) Plus it's probably chick art if there is such a thing.

[Libertine]

RC cannot give up that art collection! I'm dead serious. That would be a localized but absolute disaster. The Maier Museum contains several thousand works, most of which were created by American artists back before art went stupid. Hicks' "The Peaceable Kingdom" is housed there and that one work alone makes the museum worth saving.

[mrmacphisto]

In other RC news... I noticed this past weekend that the signs on 29 have been updated. They now say "Randolph College."

[Sly Fox]

RC cannot give up that art collection! I'm dead serious. That would be a localized but absolute disaster. The Maier Museum contains several thousand works, most of which were created by American artists back before art went stupid. Hicks' "The Peaceable Kingdom" is housed there and that one work alone makes the museum worth saving.

Expect a anonymous donor to buy the whole collection and donate it to a major university like UVa. I've seen this type of deal go down before. And if selling a priceless collection helps a college keep from closing its doors then it served its purpose.

[Libertine]

if selling a priceless collection helps a college keep from closing its doors then it served its purpose.

You'll have to excuse me if I consider an art museum to be something more than mere financial collateral.

[PeterParker]

if selling a priceless collection helps a college keep from closing its doors then it served its purpose.

You'll have to excuse me if I consider an art museum to be something more than mere financial collateral.

I agree with you, Libertine;

(also I am looking forward to LU coming of age out of the utilitarianism philosophy of space and architectural aesthetics in the near future.)

[badger74]

I have contact with a RMWC alum and the picture while not sunny is far from bleak. I expect that they will enroll 200 students next in next year's class and all this bad news will be in the past. They still have substantial endowment and the art is worth in the hundreds of millions today. The S/F ratio got out of whack and the admin was too big for the school so they are cutting back now. They can do fine with a 10:1 S/F ratio. RC is an important asset to Lynchburg and failure is not an option.

[Sly Fox]

While what badger says makes sense, I believe the issues over in Rivermont have more to so with being cash poor. Endowments are great but they don't pay for infrastructure problems like those being experienced over at their campus. The art collection is worthless from a bottom line standpoint unless it is sold (in part of in whole).

[badger74]

Yes, cash flow is probably the problem. There are many ways to get cash from valuable assets without a sale. They could lease the art out or borrow against it at pretty good terms. I'm glad I went to see the art when I had the chance. A real gem of a collection.

[Libertine]

From what I'm hearing, it's a cash flow problem but not a necessarily immediate cash flow problem. SACS is concerned about RC's endowment. It's not the amount remaining that's raising red flags for them but rather the rate at which it's being spent. If RC can't get the income to balance out the expenses by the fall -- or at least have an operational plan in place to do that -- then SACS is prepared to place them on probation. Going co-ed was the first public part of that plan and cutting the workforce was, hopefully, the last. The fact that these job cuts come at the end of the fiscal year suggests that this has been planned for a while and aren't an emergency cost-slashing move at all.

Bottom line: all is not quite well at RC but it'll be better.


PS - The chicks that wasted 3 days on Rivermont Avenue protesting the co-ed decision are idiots.

[Sly Fox]

Here's a story on the official name change this weekend from the fishwrap:

R-MWC becomes Randolph College today

By Christa Desrets
cdesrets@newsadvance.com
June 30, 2007

Until now, every caller to Lynchburg’s most talked-about college has been greeted with a friendly “Good morning (or afternoon, or evening) - Randolph Macon Woman’s College.”

Today, that changes.

The school officially became Randolph College this morning.

Click Here for Full Story

Oh yeah, Randy-Mac has been on everybody's lips. That new RC monogram looks very impressive.

[shukcb04]

I wonder how much it's going to cost their athletic teams to get new jerseys.