Mount Ida Sale Approved, AG Healey Starts Review Of Top Brass

NEWTON, MA — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey approved the $86.5 million sale of Mount Ida College's Newton campus to the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. But Healey's office said it planned to open an investigation into Mount Ida's senior administrators and its board of trustees.

Healey expedited the review of the sale which involves a $75 million payment from UMass and an $11.5 million debt forgiveness from a creditor contingent on the transaction, according to the attorney general's office.

Her office determined after the review that the consequences of not closing on the deal by May 16 "will be more devastating than they would be if the transaction occurs."

The sale is scheduled to close Wednesday, the same day as top brass from Mount Ida and UMass are scheduled to appear before a state Senate committee to explain just what happened.

"We are deeply disappointed by [Mount Ida College's] decision to close its doors without a school closing plan and without appropriate notice to students, faculty, staff, and regulators," Healey's attorneys said in a letter to Mount Ida's attorneys Tuesday. "MIC's abrupt closure has caused real harm to students and families, many of whom are still unsure of what to do. Your faculty and staff have lost their jobs."

But the letter went on to say that Mount Ida College in Newton will receive "fair value" for its assets through its proposed acquisition by UMass Amherst and that court action would not be necessary.

Closing on the deal by Wednesday would enable Mount Ida to avoid bankruptcy, ensure payment of outstanding wages to workers and secure commitments made by UMass to Mount Ida students, according to the letter.

The attorney general's office oversees organizations registered as charities, such as Mount Ida.

On April 6, UMass Amherst announced it had reached a preliminary agreement to acquire Mount Ida, just days after merger talks with Lasell College fell through. Mount Ida has been around since 1899 and in recent years the school had invested in new sports fields and had a bit of a makeover on campus.

The announcement came as a surprise to students and faculty alike. Students had to scramble to find new colleges to attend, and many such as the funeral program were with out options. UMass offered its assistance with placements. >> Read Student's Reactions: Mount Ida Closure Leaves Newton Students, Parents Scrambling

The letter includes several stipulations for the transaction that are designed to help protect the majors that students were especially struggling to find compatible schools where they could finish their education. Among them: UMass takes on the Veterinary Technology programs at the Newton campus; UMass and Regis work to help the pre-dental and dental hygiene students, and that UMass gives Cape Cod Community College equipment and assets from Mount Ida's funeral services programs so Cape Cod College can offer the programs Mount Ida did.

A spokesman for UMass President Martin Meehan told State House News Service that Healey and her staff "are focused on the best interests of Mount Ida's students, and UMass has worked to provide solutions for and assist as many Mount Ida students as we possibly can."

So far, more than 600, or nearly half of Mount Ida students, have applied to a UMass campus, said Jeff Cournoyer, State House News reported.

Meanwhile, the UMass Boston Faculty Council on Monday issued a vote of no confidence in Meehan and the UMass Board of Trustees, which approved the Mount Ida deal. The council also called for the deal to be stopped, calling it "superfluous" for UMass Amherst to build a branch at Mount Ida and said the acquisition "in greater Boston would set a clear a [sic] precedent and inaugurate an inter-campus model of competition, rather than collaboration, within and across the UMass system."

Previously on Patch:

• Mount Ida Closure Leaves Newton Students, Parents Scrambling
• No Merger For Two Newton Colleges After Pushback
• UMass Acquires Newton College, Mount Ida To Close
• Newton's Mount Ida In Talks With UMass: Governor
• Two Newton Colleges Consider Merger
• Husson Offers Mount Ida Students Half-Price Tuition

Read the Letter to Mount Ida From AG Attorneys

Previously on Patch:

• Mount Ida Closure Leaves Newton Students, Parents Scrambling
• No Merger For Two Newton Colleges After Pushback
• UMass Acquires Newton College, Mount Ida To Close
• Newton's Mount Ida In Talks With UMass: Governor
• Two Newton Colleges Consider Merger
• Husson Offers Mount Ida Students Half-Price Tuition

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch

- Information from State House News Service was used in this report.