Week in review: Trinity Christian closes as other colleges make cuts

每周回顾：三一基督教学院关停，其他高校纷纷缩减开支

Most clicked story of the week:

本周点击量最高的报道

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $387 million in unrestricted funds to eight historically Black colleges and universities in recent weeks. Each institution described their donation as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in their history. Scott, who is largely out of the public eye, does not announce donation values unless the recipients do.

亿万富翁慈善家麦肯齐・斯科特（MacKenzie Scott）近期向八所历史悠久的黑人学院和大学（HBCUs）捐赠了 3.87 亿美元无限制资金。每所院校都称这笔捐赠即便不是本校历史上最大的一笔，也是最大的之一。斯科特基本淡出公众视野，除非受赠方主动公布，否则她不会披露捐赠金额。

Number of the week: 900+

本周关键数字：900+

The number of layoff notices the University of Southern California has issued since July. The private institution's leadership said last week that it is “on track” to eliminate its longstanding deficit by the end of the fiscal year, following the significant cost-cutting measures.

南加州大学（USC）自 7 月以来发出的裁员通知数量。这所私立院校的管理层上周表示，经过一系列重大削减成本措施，该校目前正 “步入正轨”，有望在本财年末消除长期存在的财政赤字。

Cuts and Closures

削减与关停

Trinity Christian College, in Illinois, announced it will shutter at the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, citing ongoing financial issues such as persistent budget deficits and falling enrollment. In addition to establishing teach-out and transfer pathways, the private liberal arts college is allowing students to go over course load maximums with the goal of graduating as many as possible before closing.

伊利诺伊州三一基督教学院（Trinity Christian College）宣布，将于 2025-2026 学年结束时关停，称其原因是持续存在的财务问题，包括长期预算赤字和入学人数下降。这所私立文理学院除了设立课程收尾项目和转学通道外，还允许学生超量选课，以期在关停前让尽可能多的学生顺利毕业。

Another religious college in Illinois, the University of St. Francis, is taking steps to address budgetary issues. The university has laid off 18 staff and administrators following a $9 million deficit in fiscal 2024. It also notified "a number of faculty" that it was not renewing their contracts, which Joliet Patch reported as affecting another 18 employees.

伊利诺伊州另一所宗教背景高校 —— 圣弗朗西斯大学（University of St. Francis）正采取措施应对预算问题。继 2024 财年出现 900 万美元赤字后，该校已裁减 18 名工作人员及行政人员。此外，学校还通知 “部分教职员工” 不再续签其合同，据乔利埃特当地媒体《Joliet Patch》报道，这一举措又影响了 18 名员工。

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is facing pushback against its chancellor's proposal to eliminate six academic programs. An internal advisory group voted to oppose ending four of the programs and raised concerns with the methods and pace UNL's leadership used to decide which degrees should be on the chopping block.

内布拉斯加大学林肯分校（University of Nebraska-Lincoln，UNL）正面临针对校长提出的削减 6 个学术项目提议的反对声音。校内一个咨询小组投票反对终止其中 4 个项目，同时对该校管理层在确定哪些学位项目列入削减名单时所采用的方式与进度提出了质疑。

Guidance for college leaders

高校领导层指导性建议

Colleges undergoing significant restructuring must be prepared to “craft a positive narrative” about it and their involvement, according to the latest edition of the regular opinion series Merger Watch. Throughout mergers, acquisitions and even closures, college leaders need to own these narratives — or others will craft them instead, writes Ricardo Azziz, a consolidation expert who pens the series.

定期观点专栏《并购观察》（Merger Watch）最新一期指出，正在进行重大重组的高校必须做好准备，为重组事宜及其自身参与打造积极叙事。撰写该专栏的整合专家里卡多・阿齐兹（Ricardo Azziz）写道，在合并、收购乃至关停的全过程中，高校领导层需主导这些叙事 —— 否则其他人将会代而行之。

A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Trump administration must fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the government shutdown — a decision the government has already appealed. Given the legal back-and-forth, it’s unclear when SNAP recipients will get their benefits, warned The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs, a resource and policy center at Temple University. The center is offering administrators and campus leaders a toolkit to help support food-insecure students during this "period of uncertainty."

联邦法官周四裁定，特朗普政府必须在政府停摆期间全额资助补充营养援助计划（Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP，又称 “食品券计划”）—— 政府已对该裁决提起上诉。坦普尔大学（Temple University）资源与政策中心 “学生基本需求希望中心”（The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs）提醒，鉴于这场法律拉锯战，目前尚不清楚 SNAP 受助者何时能领取到补贴。该中心正为高校管理者及校园领导层提供一套实用工具包，助力在这段 “不确定时期” 帮扶食物无保障的学生。

Quote of the Week:

本周引言：

Under an August presidential order, Trump administration political appointees at federal agencies now have the power to ensure grant awards align with the federal government’s “priorities and the national interest” and don't promote undefined “anti-American values.”

根据 8 月发布的一项总统令，特朗普政府在联邦机构任职的政治任命官员如今有权确保拨款项目符合联邦政府的 “优先事项与国家利益”，且不得宣扬含义模糊的 “反美价值观”。

Academics and researchers like Lubell are raising alarms that the change — yet another significant departure from scientific funding norms — will erode U.S. research.

像卢贝尔这样的学者和研究人员警告说，这一变化——又一次对科学资助规范的重大背离——将侵蚀美国的研究。