Dowling becomes rare nonprofit college to file for bankruptcy (updated)

ITT Educational Services

30/11/2016 04:46

(Updates to add comment and name of real estate firm) 
    By Tom Hals 
    WILMINGTON, Del., Nov 29 (Reuters) - Dowling College became 
a rare nonprofit college to file for bankruptcy on Tuesday after 
the liberal arts school near New York lost its academic 
accreditation in August and closed its doors after 48 years. 
    The college has suffered from sinking enrollment and 
defaulted last year on $54 million in debt that was issued 
through local government agencies.  
    Dowling joins several for-profit colleges, such ITT 
Educational Services  ESINQ.PK  and Corinthian Colleges, that 
have filed for bankruptcy in recent years after losing access to 
U.S. government-backed financial aid programs.  
    Dowling announced earlier this year that efforts to find a 
partner to rescue the school had fallen through and began 
helping its more than 1,500 students to find other institutions 
to complete their education.  
    The school offered dozens of majors and specialized in the 
arts and sciences, aviation, education and business, and offered 
graduate degrees. 
    The college has hired real estate firms, including A&G 
Realty Partners to sell its waterfront campus property in 
Oakdale in eastern Long Island, according to court documents. 
Real estate in Shirley, New York will be marketed next year. 
    "The (Oakdale) property is already zoned residential and is 
ideal for continued use as an educational institution or 
redevelopment into residential or other uses," Andy Graiser, 
co-president of A&G Realty, said in a statement. 
    Morris Brown College in Atlanta filed for bankruptcy in 
2012. Other financially struggling nonprofit colleges have 
closed or merged with stronger institutions. 
 
 (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional 
reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York; editing by Jonathan 
Oatis and Sunil Nair) 
 ((thomas.hals@thomsonreuters.com; +1-610-544-2712; Reuters 
Messaging: thomas.hals.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: UNIVERSITY BANKRUPTCY/