Oakland City University says it needs a donation to come through to pay its workers.<\/p>\n
ADragan | iStock | Getty Images Plus<\/p>\n
An Indiana Christian university is in danger of closing by the end of the month. <\/p>\n
Oakland City University told the state government<\/a> April\u00a01 that it would lay off all 167 of its employees June\u00a01, perhaps for good. On May\u00a08, employees\u2019 paychecks didn\u2019t arrive, and they\u2019re still waiting to get paid. A spokesperson for the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits the university, told Inside Higher Ed it is \u201creaching out to the institution regarding this public report\u201d and \u201cwill continue to explore the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n But Todd Mosby, the university\u2019s associate vice president of advancement, development, marketing and communications, told Inside Higher Ed Friday, \u201cWe\u2019ve never said we would close.\u201d The institution is working with two donors, both companies, to pay the missed paychecks and to keep the university\u2019s doors open next academic year, he said. <\/p>\n Mosby didn\u2019t name either company. He also said he didn\u2019t know why the money from the company that\u2019s promised to cover the paychecks hasn\u2019t yet reached the university\u2019s bank accounts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe university didn\u2019t have the money; we\u2019ve got a donor that\u2019s going to provide the money, and the money is working its way through the banking system,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n He also declined to release any details on a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d with the second company. <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t give any assurances,\u201d Mosby said. \u201cNone of us can give any assurances.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said he didn\u2019t know how the university got into this financial situation; it wasn\u2019t due to a loss of students, because enrollment has increased, he said. According to Education Department data, the university had 640 students as of fall 2024, down from 2,086 a decade before that\u2014but that decline was almost entirely in part-time students. <\/p>\n The university\u2019s most recent IRS Form 990 filing<\/a>, for the tax or calendar year beginning in 2023, showed it had a $4\u00a0million operating deficit and a $4.4\u00a0million deficit the year before. Its reported endowment funds also dropped from $10.6\u00a0million to $5.4\u00a0million. It still reported having total net assets of $33.5\u00a0million. <\/p>\n The Evansville Courier & Press, citing an unnamed source at the university, reported that<\/a> athletic staff were told Wednesday the university would close entirely before the end of this month. Mosby said those staff were actually told the plan was to suspend classes for the 2026\u201327 academic year. But Mosby said the planned strategic partnership would avert this. <\/p>\n Also on Wednesday, 14 News reported<\/a> that Mosby said the strategic partnership had been finalized. But Mosby told Inside Higher Ed, \u201cWe\u2019re still in the middle of negotiating that particular agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n The Courier & Press has published screenshots<\/a> of university president Ron Dempsey repeatedly messaging employees that they would be paid soon. At one point, Dempsey said the \u201crevenue source for payroll\u201d had expressed \u201cplans to sue\u201d a bank holding up the money transfer, before the bank relented. <\/p>\n The university has also said it\u2019s considering selling a patent for carbon capture technology, which seeks to stop carbon dioxide created by burning fossil fuels from entering the atmosphere. A September article<\/a> in Energy Research and Social Science, however, found that such \u201ctechnologies have failed to meet expectations despite 30 years of promises.\u201d <\/p>\n Mosby said the university is \u201cvery confident\u201d it will be able to make money off the patent to help shore up the university\u2019s finances, separate from the strategic partnership. <\/p>\n