Officials of Lambuth University, in Tennessee, have reversed their decision to sell the financially ailing institution to a for-profit investment group. Under a revised agreement with the investors, whose identities the university will not reveal until the deal is final, Lambuth’s Board of Trustees will retain ownership of the university and it will remain a nonprofit institution, The Jackson Sun reports.
Last week, with a tentative agreement to sell, the university was working to meet a May 28 deadline to submit revised documents to its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which placed Lambuth on probation last year. “We determined that there were more advantages to staying a nonprofit versus going to a for-profit status,” Lambuth’s president, Bill Seymour, told the Sun. “We could accomplish the same things through a joint venture with the investors.”
The amount of money investors will give Lambuth remains under wraps, and it is not clear how they will benefit.
Lambuth, which was founded in 1843 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, made headlines a year ago for being unable to meet its payroll and for failing the U.S. Department of Education’s test of financial responsibility. According to the Sun, Lambuth was again unable to pay its employees on May 15.
Follow The Ticker through your favorite RSS reader.