The Boston Globe published: "It’s not too late to save Hampshire College," two letters in response to the Boston Globe’s recent article. The first letter is from four college presidents explaining Hampshire’s importance to the Five College Consortium and higher education nationally. “For more than five decades, Hampshire has been a national leader in educational innovation, emphasizing interdisciplinary study and student-driven inquiry long before such approaches became widely adopted and respected.”

But is the letter merely rhetorical?

An Investment, Not A Gift

In total, the five schools have nearly $8 billion in endowment. Colleges typically invest part of their endowment in bonds; for example, Amherst College has 6.6% of its portfolio in bonds. By reallocating just 1% of the endowment from other investments, the consortium members could buy Hampshire’s tax-deductible, interest-bearing, land-secured bonds. This would alleviate Hampshire’s refinancing hurdle and provide enough money to invest in multi-generational housing on Hampshire’s land behind Atkins Market and in an innovation center.

Municipal Bond Funds are a type of investment that can be purchased and may include bonds from private colleges. MassDevelopment, a state agency, is the conduit issuer of tax-exempt bonds for Hampshire College. They explained to me that, “The bonds are either sold in the capital markets (public placement) or directly to a Borrower’s bank or another financial institution (private placement).”

Warren Gorlick is a Hampshire alum, former trustee, and former Deputy Director of the U.S. Treasury. He told me, “The letter implies that Hampshire is integral to the consortium's collective mission. If that is genuinely true, then financial participation should follow from it — not as a gesture, but as a modest, time-limited commitment that could stabilize Hampshire while longer-term reforms take hold. If we value the Five College model, preserving all five of its institutions must be a shared responsibility — not merely a matter of words, but of resources.”

There is superlative logic to saving Hampshire right now as a bridge to alumni transferring generational wealth to the college in a significant way. Gorlick writes in, Here are ways to forge a sustainable future for Hampshire College: “Over the long term, Hampshire’s endowment is likely to grow, as significant giving often comes later in alumni lives or through bequests. Hampshire’s first class entered in 1970, so its alumni base is still relatively young, but with the oldest now in their seventies, bequests and major gifts should increase in the coming years.”

Five College Center for Innovation

But what if the other presidents want to support Hampshire, but determine that buying Hampshire’s bonds is not in alignment with their investment priorities and strategic plans? One viable way of lending financial support while expanding the consortium’s educational scope would be to invest in new Five College incubators - an idea that has historical precedent.

Hampshire has 800 acres of land and could potentially add a center adjacent to its cultural village (Hitchcock Center, Yiddish Book Center, and Eric Carle Museum), including education and business incubators.

Future of Higher Education Incubator

This incubator could be a neutral, flexible space to experiment with educational innovations that no single college can tackle on its own. A variety of funding sources and partnerships would be possible, including foundation grants, industry partnerships, and non-profit partnerships.

A similar idea from Charles R. Longsworth, one of Hampshire’s founders, was mentioned in The Making of a College (Hampshire’s foundational planning document): “An RD Laboratory (not Research and Development, but Radical Departure)... ‘a special educational laboratory on the campus for the really wild things to be tried… where institutional or faculty reputations would not be lost; only made.’”

I mentioned the idea to Michael Horn, an author, educational futurist, and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute. He responded that, ”I do think there's a space and a need for it. It's ironic, right? You're going to have a lot of colleges close, and there is a space and a need, in my view, for new models of higher education at the same time. So if Hampshire could serve as that autonomous unit for ongoing experimentation and creation, I think that would be a gift to the sector.”

The incubator would seem to fit with this idea, expressed by Jennifer Chrisler, Hampshire College President: “Together, we get to imagine the next chapter of the College’s history, and we have to be brave enough to ask ourselves, ‘What’s next?’ Hampshire’s job at this moment is nothing short of reinventing liberal arts for the 21st century.”

Five College Business Incubator

An incubator would start with a focus on societal problems. There are big donors out there who would be excited by bold, different opportunities so they can make an outsized impact.

Matt Hoey was a co-founder of Canopy, an international business incubator headquartered in Boston, and worked closely with MIT. He says that, “Hampshire’s experimental, interdisciplinary identity is a strong brand for an incubator - especially one tilted toward social impact and public problem-solving. That gives it a unique market niche compared to tech-centric incubators, but combined with tech-centric, it’s a complete package for solving a range of industry and social challenges.”

Hoey envisions a hub-and-spoke model in which a 5-college incubator would eventually connect entrepreneurial programs and incubators at the other colleges. This would attract students, provide work-study jobs, and funding for faculty and staff positions in entrepreneurship. Connecting the hub with the Western MA entrepreneurial ecosystem would help provide jobs after graduation.

There is a precedent for such bold initiatives at Hampshire. Venturewell was founded at Hampshire College as part of the Lemelson program (it was initially called National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance). It is now an independent program and, over 30 years, has helped start ventures that have received $7.9 billion in funding.

The other colleges of the consortium created Hampshire College in 1965. Will its leaders follow up on the strong words in their Boston Globe letter with actual support for a plan that will save the college, benefit the consortium, town, and higher education?

Jonathon Podolsky 94F is a higher education journalist and a Boardsource Certified Non-Profit Board Consultant. More at www.Podolsky.cc