South Carolina’s Limestone University is ending 180 years of education after a $6 million fundraising drive came up short.
The school will close its doors at the end of its current semester after coming up with just over $2 million from roughly 200 donors, university officials said at the close of their two week campaign. Word of the private institutions troubles were announced in early April.
“Though our doors may close, the impact of Limestone University will live on,” Limestone University’s chairman Randall Richardson said.
The school will close with roughly have the enrollment it had a decade ago. Roughly 50 of its 1,600 students gathered outside the school in the 12,500 person town of Gaffney, S.C. campus when they got notice of the shutdown.
“Today, the Board of Trustees voted to discontinue both on-campus and online programs following an extensive but ultimately unsuccessful effort to secure the necessary funding to continue operations,” the school announced Tuesday.
Hundreds of educators and administrators will also be impacted by the closure. Limestone’s final commencement takes place Saturday.
The school’s supporters included Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, who died in 2022 after playing for several teams including the 1980 Yankees. Limestone credits Perry with starting its baseball program in 1987 and coaching there for three years.
Private schools like Limestone have struggled in recent years due in part to demographic shifts and the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. North Carolina’s St. Andrews University, which is about 150 miles from Limestone, plans to close Sunday.
With News Wire Services
