ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Fontbonne University will close in 2025, a decision that follows years of dwindling enrollment and financial losses at the 100-year-old Clayton-based liberal arts institution.
Neighboring Washington University will purchase Fontbonne’s 16-acre campus “in the coming months” as part of a purchase agreement, Fontbonne officials said. A sale price was not disclosed. Washington U, in a statement Monday, said it has no definitive plans for the site.
Fontbonne's board voted Sunday to “declare financial exigency” and close the university after its 2025 summer term. "The financial position of the university was determined to be unsustainable for the long term,” Fontbonne said Monday in announcing its impending closure. University leaders will host a news conference about the decision at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Monday’s announcement marked a “day of grief” on campus as the century-old Catholic university, with just under 800 students, begins the process of shutting itself down, President Nancy Blattner said in an interview Monday.