West Virginia private college to remain open next year

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — A private West Virginia college says it will stay open in the coming academic year despite being in a financial crisis.

News outlets report Wheeling Jesuit University President Michael Mihalyo said in a statement on Wednesday that the board of trustees thinks the school can muster the resources it needs to sustain operations next year. It will continue to operate under the existing declaration of financial exigency.

Mihalyo says the plan will require significant changes including a narrowed set of academic programs and co-curricular activities, and a reduction in faculty and staff.

In 2017, the university sold its property to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to address long-term debt. The diocese gifted the property to the university in 1952.

Wheeling Jesuit has an enrollment of about 1,150.