To President Jennifer Chrisler, President Michael A. Elliott, President Danielle Holley, Chancellor Javier Reyes, and President Sarah Willie-LeBreton:

On April 14th, 2026, the Trustees of Hampshire College announced their decision to close the College in December 2026, ending Hampshire's vital, more than half-a-century long presence in Western Massachusetts.

The mission of the Five College Consortium is to collaborate in achieving aims that each college cannot achieve individually. The Consortium celebrates the enormous value that "students, faculty, staff, and community members—receive from coming together, learning from each other, and striving toward shared objectives.”

Given this mission, we the undersigned call upon the Presidents of Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College, as well as the Chancellor of UMass-Amherst, to propose a plan for fully supporting the roughly 250 faculty and staff of Hampshire College who will be laid off without severance on June 15 2026; and for fully supporting the Hampshire College students who must determine the future course of their educations by April 30th, per the current policy.

The situation is a crisis. Hampshire faculty and staff will lose their health insurance June 30th, cutting off their access to necessary medication and treatment. Some members of the community will face deportation; some will suffer housing insecurity. With the closure of Hampshire’s Early Learning Center, parents and children across the 5 C’s community will lose the support of beloved teachers and caretakers. Finally, Hampshire students will lose jobs and merit scholarships that enable them to fund their education.

We are fortunate to be part of a consortium with enormous financial resources. Together, the Presidents of Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College, as well as the Chancellor of UMass-Amherst, can ensure that all students, staff, and faculty are buffered from the disruptive, life-changing impacts of this crisis.

Accordingly, we petition the Presidents of the Five Colleges to do what is necessary to fulfill their responsibilities to our community, as follows:

1. Provide positions of employment to Hampshire College staff and faculty at one of the other Four Colleges. Staff and student workers require positions commensurate with their expertise and professional skills. Faculty require at minimum a year-long position at one of the Four Colleges, in faculty positions commensurate with their experience and compensated at the standard salary level of the host institution.

2. Support Hampshire College students in a transfer process that supports financial aid needs as well as continued visa support. All Hampshire College students wishing to transfer to one of the other Four Colleges should be accepted automatically and have their work in Hampshire’s robust and innovative academic programs fully honored.

3. Protect Hampshire College faculty and staff healthcare and privileges. Full health insurance benefits, office and library privileges, and Hampshire email account access should be ensured through January 1, 2027.

We ask for a meeting to address these pressing concerns in the days between April 27, 2026 and April 29, 2026. While we recognize the compressed timeline, we ask that you respect the need of Hampshire students to make transfer decisions by April 30. This meeting should be open to all members of the Hampshire College community.

We look forward to your timely response to this petition.