The Limestone University Board of Trustees said Tuesday that it has "a possible funding source" that could allow the university to remain open with on-campus and online classes.
“This possible funding solution has us all cautiously optimistic about the future of Limestone as both an in-person and online educator," said Randall Richardson, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Last week, we were at the brink of a possible closure or transition to online-only classes. Now, we are pausing that discussion so we can wait on more information about a potential financial lifeline. We want to emphasize, this is just a possibility at the current time.”
Tuesday's announcement follows a tumultuous week at Limestone, set off by the board’s April 16 statement that, given a $30 million budget shortfall and a need to raise at least $6 million to keep the 179-year-old university fully open, Limestone could either close or switch to all-online learning.
Shockwaves quickly followed the April 16 announcement, with students turning to social media platforms to vent their feelings and to appeal to online influencers, including Mr. Beast, and billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, to help save their school.
“Sharing that devastating news with our students and staff was the hardest announcement I’ve ever had to make,” said Nathan Copeland, president of Limestone. “Though shaken, our students, staff, and members of our greater Gaffney community banded together. They prayed, reached out to possible donors, and kept their faith in God that He could provide a way through. I’m grateful for this potentially positive development and ask everyone to be patient while our board awaits more information.
Surprise at the announcement that Limestone could close hit students like Jonathan Gomides, an international student, hard.
“I’m from Brazil, so right now I'm in a bad situation with all this happening,” Gomides said. “ I'm trying to graduate right now because my visa is about to expire. With all this happening, I don't know if I can get my degree, so it's a, it's a problem for me.”
The news hit student athletes at Limestone even harder. Were the school to go virtual, it would mean the end of all on-campus activities, including sports.
About 700 of Limestone’s 1,700 students play a sport. Many receive scholarships to play at the Division II school.
“It was like a starstruck dream, honestly,” said Emma Greenier, who attends Limestone on a volleyball scholarship. “All of us are very overwhelmed, very scared.”
Greenier said that she and other athletes are contacting coaches at other universities, but are facing the reality that athletic scholarships for 2025-26 are largely already awarded to other students and that teams for next season, whatever the sport, are not likely to have room for sudden transfers from Limestone.
“ I'm even considering community college, back at home [in Florida], living with my parents again, right where I started last year,” she said.
Greenier’s close friend, Annabelle Dougherty, a soccer player at Limestone, said the two were looking to room together next semester when the news came down. Like Greenier, Dougherty is worried about her immediate college career.
“ If we have to go somewhere else,” she said, “it's just a really tough position right now between scholarship money, recruitment, transfers of credits, and finding somewhere [else to go to college] within two weeks.”
Greenier and Dougherty said that they are also concerned that students leaving Limestone would leave a major hole in the local economy.
“[Between] the restaurants, the shops, the other schools, the area itself in general, we bring a lot of money and funding in for Cherokee County,” Greenier said. “So once all the students at Limestone are gone, the city of Gaffney is at risk for collapse, basically.”
According to the university, Limestone has a $150 million annual economic impact on Cherokee County and the shift to online-only instruction “threatens not only the campus experience, but local jobs and the cultural presence Limestone has provided for nearly two centuries.”
The Board of Trustees said in its April 16 statement that “the university’s financial challenges stem from a combination of nationwide enrollment declines, rising costs, and long-standing structural pressures facing small, private institutions.”
Limestone filed a WARN filing with the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce that would mean the end of 478 jobs, were the university to shut down.
The Limestone University Board of Trustees will reconvene once the needed information is available, but no later than April 29, 2025.
“We hope to receive more information in the next week regarding a potential funding source,” Richardson said in a statement. ”We are committed to preserving the Limestone mission of education and service on our campus in addition to online, but we can only do that with adequate funding. We will update everyone as soon as we know more. Please be patient and continue to pray for a viable solution to save this historic university.”
