A historically Black college in central Illinois named after Abraham Lincoln will close this week. It is months after a cyberattack worsened enrollment problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lincoln College witnessed record enrollment levels in 2019. It said in a press release that it was scrambling to stay afloat via fundraising efforts, workforce consolidation, and leasing options.
“Unfortunately, these efforts did not create long-term viability for Lincoln College in the face of the pandemic,” the school said in a statement. It started in 1865 in Lincoln, roughly 170 miles southwest of Chicago.
The college was then hit by a cyberattack in December. At the same time, COVID-19 cases declined and students returned to schools around the country. For three months, the cyberattack left all student recruitment, retention, and fundraising systems useless.
Save Lincoln College campaign
After an attack originating in Iran, Lincoln’s president, David Gerlach, told the Chicago Tribune that the school paid a ransom of less than $100,000. However, once the systems fully restored, the school, which had just over 1,000 students during the 2018-19 academic year, discovered “significant enrollment shortfalls”.
A GoFundMe campaign named Save Lincoln College was launched to raise $20 million. But it has only raised $2,352 as of this week. And, according to Gerlach, the school required $50 million to remain open.
In a statement, Gerlach said, “The loss of history, careers and a community of students and alumni is immense”.
The institution also announced that the Teach-Out/Transfer Agreements with 21 universities received approval from the Higher Learning Commission. Last month, the school organized a college fair to allow students to find out where they might want to transfer.
