On Tuesday, November 19, Bard College at Simon’s Rock announced that it would close its Great Barrington campus after the spring semester and move the college to its Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., location.
My initial reaction was one of mild shock, even though I knew the school had been struggling financially for many decades. Next, I felt a twinge of sadness, because I had begun my teaching career at that school, and even though I was there for only two years, it was a good start. Plus, it allowed me to move from New York to Great Barrington, a town I’ve loved for the last 51 years. A few moments later, I felt for the hundreds of faculty members and staff who would soon lose their jobs. It has always been difficult to find a good job in the Berkshires, so for those who choose to remain in the area, it will be very challenging, and they will need a great deal of luck.
While I still think about the employees and their families, my focus has shifted. As difficult as the closing of Simon’s Rock is for that community, I see it as an extraordinary opportunity for the town to do something very special. The reason I say this is because, as a nonprofit, the campus could serve so many people in need while enriching the entire community.
Just think what the five dormitories and staff residences could do! They could provide lots of affordable housing (all of Simon’s Rock’s hundreds of students live on campus), shelter the homeless, provide temporary living quarters for those undocumented immigrants forced to flee red states, and create shared living space for low-income seniors and housing for people with disabilities.
In short, the campus could be a comprehensive housing solution for scores of people in real need.
Beyond what the dormitories and other residences could offer, the rest of the campus could fill other important needs. Affordable daycare could be established, struggling artists could take advantage of the studios, nonprofits and people-centered businesses could occupy offices at reasonable rents, the cafeteria could serve nutritious low-cost meals to anyone, and on and on.
Last but not least, the campus’s sports and recreational facilities, including the Kilpatrick Athletic Center, would be a magnificent addition to the amenities Great Barrington already offers.
The possibilities for using the Simon’s Rock campus in humanitarian and constructive ways are practically endless. They are limited only by imagination and—let’s face it—money!
I have no idea what price Bard will ask for the 275-acre property, but I am pretty sure it will be much more than the Town of Great Barrington can afford. But whatever it is, it will not exceed what the state and federal governments can spend. Aside from its immediate impact, the project could serve as a template for other communities. There is, of course, one other possibility. We live in country in which a tiny number of people have so much money that even to fund the purchase of Simon’s Rock as a nonprofit would be nothing to them. Such people are scarce, but they do exist, and perhaps one or more can be found.
Sadly, if I had to bet, I would put my money on a private developer purchasing the college and then turning it into a spa or a gated community for the well-to-do. I am sure that there are already developers who are salivating at the prospect, and as the news spreads that the college is up for sale, more will certainly join them. This is precisely what we don’t need; Great Barrington does not need more upscale development! Over the last 30 years or so, the community has been steadily gentrified to the point where it needs to stop or it will turn into the Hamptons. The Simon’s Rock campus is a magnificent piece of property that can serve the less fortunate and regular folks, and that is what it should be used for.
It won’t be easy to find the money to purchase the campus and develop it as a haven of compassionate housing and community development. It will require a tremendous amount of determination and hard work. But Great Barrington is filled with numerous special people who are warriors when it comes to raising money for worthy causes.
So I say to all those Selectboard members, affordable-housing agencies, politicians, businesspeople, philanthropists, and caring citizens out there, let’s do this! Let’s seize this extraordinary opportunity to purchase Simon’s Rock and turn it into the best reflection of ourselves and our community. Let’s make it happen!
Those who wish to contact the author can reach him by email at mroptimism1@gmail.com.
