Colleges That Keep Small Isolated Towns Vibrant Now Pose Public Health Threat

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A local gospel quintet entertains Sterling residents on a recent Tuesday evening.

Frank Morris

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Frank Morris

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Scott Rich is President of Sterling College.

Frank Morris

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Frank Morris

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A statute of Jesus washing the feet of a disciple greets students entering Sterling College. The school tries to instill an ethic of «servant leadership in students, but relies on the sports to draw students. Now after 133 years the school may be forced to close, if the pandemic keeps students from enrolling this fall.

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A new era

Small colleges and college towns across much of the country face the same worries.

But some analysts say that a pruning of universities may prove inevitable, and that the coronavirus has only sped up the thinning of the higher education herd.

«I actually see the future of higher education, broadly speaking, as entering a new golden age, said Richard Price, a research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute. It’s a think tank that presses for dramatic change in institutions.

Price said the pandemic may hasten the evolution to better online classes, and a public education system that’s much more accessible and equitable.

«The traditional model, it was originally for the landed elite and it wasn’t for all genders, Price said. «It wasn’t for all races. And that is slowly getting phased out along with some older business models that aren’t pivoting well.

Price thinks many little colleges will adapt. Lots of them have cheated death before. But he said there’s little doubt that this time next year the United States will have fewer colleges.

Folks in Sterling, Kansas hope and, yes, pray, that Sterling College is among the survivors.