Leaders of Cheyney University are fighting to keep the school afloat, and yesterday they announced a plan for the university’s “resurgence”. It starts with a $4 million fundraising campaign, with a goal of raising at least $2.5 million before the end of the fiscal year.
Cheyney owes its sister schools in the State System of Higher Education $43 million in borrowed funds, but the System is ready to forgive $30 million of that debt if Cheyney can balance its budget by the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. That may also be the only way that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education preserve’s Cheyney’s accreditation.
University president Aaron Walton yesterday announced the fundraising campaign, along with new partnerships with Epcot Crenshaw Corporation and Thomas Jefferson University to relocate to Cheyney and pay rent for the use of university facilities. The two entities would also become a part of Cheyney’s educational programming. Walton also said Starbucks will work with Cheyney on joint projects for workplace recruitment and retention for minority students. Other plans include a hotel-conference center on campus that would serve as a partner for the school’s hospitality program track.
Walton projected an enrollment increase from 415 students to close to 700 by next fall.
