BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — College students are just weeks away from the start of a new semester. Smaller colleges have been struggling with declining enrollment.
But Trocaire College is ready to reset for a new school year after dropping plans to buy Medaille.
“I selected Trocaire because they have my program - RadTech,” Gabriella Full, incoming Trocaire freshman.
Incoming Trocaire freshmen are getting ready for their first taste of college life on the campus in south Buffalo.
But what students won’t be seeing is a blending of Medaille University. Trocaire's initial plans to buy Medaille’s campus, programs, students, and faculty all fell apart in this past May for undisclosed reasons.
In a sit-down interview with Trocaire President Bassam Deeb, he tells me students will not be directly impacted.
“Our goal right now for fall of '23 is to focus on the population that has made a commitment to the college and will continue to make a commitment as we approach the start of the academic year,” explained Deeb.
Medaille University won’t reopen this fall, officially announcing in the spring it would shut down due to several factors that included financial hardship and a drop in enrollment.
Trocaire's plan to buy Medaille academics was to offer more to its students because programs between the two schools did not "overlap.
“And so now that that's not happening, you know, there are things that we think we could leverage, particularly things that really make sense for this community,” described Deeb.
Trocaire bought 11 houses along Agassiz Circle from Medaille.
Medaille is set to close for good at the end of this month. But Trocaire isn't saying what it is going to do with those properties.
“Are you stuck with those?” Buckley asked. “No, we're not stuck with those — look, we have had several inquiries by folks in the community who wanted to know whether we're willing to sell. So, we know that there is a market to sell them. We want to be methodical about our approach,” replied Deeb.
But Trocaire has hired nine Medaille staffers, including Medaille’s veterinarian technician's program chair with plans to add a vet-tech program.
“We have announced the hiring of Dr. Katherine Fitzgerald, as the inaugural dean for Veterinary Science at the college, she has in the process of bringing a team of professionals with her to look at what the field of the profession of veterinary science, and veterinary technology is looking for, for from a credentialing standpoint,” Deeb remarked.
President Deeb tells me like many other colleges, they are projecting flat enrollment numbers over the next couple of years and there are limitations right now with the location of the college.
"Trocaire cannot go out-of-state to recruit the student to come here. We don't have the facilities to support an out-of-state student, so that means we have to think differently about the community where the students come from,” Deeb said.
But new students I spoke with want to be at a school right here in Buffalo.
“I selected it because it had my program and it's also a smaller, dynamic school, and if I was going to stay home, I was going to pick a smaller school, so that I could have a relationship between me and my professors,” replied Natalie Hoerner, incoming student.
“And it's a small school, so I really like that,” Full commented. “But it offers more like a smaller personal connection.”
“What do you want in college life?” Buckley asked. “I feel like everyone always wants a social life in college and the school still offers that, but it offers more like a smaller personal connection, where I feel it is really needed for our generation because instead of it being online classes and such a big university or college, you can go and really meet a small group of friends and life bond with them,” Hoerner responded.
