We now know the latest piece of information about the demise of Ushaw College, which has managed to slip out into the public domain. The commercial side of the operation at the College, the Conference Centre, is to close at the end of December. The Conference Centre business was an important money-stream for the upkeep of the College, and I know that this continued money-stream played an important part in the proposed rescue plans which had been drawn up in the hope of keeping Ushaw open.
I am now left wondering and speculating which came first, the chicken or the egg. Did the decision by the Trustees to close the College at the end of the scholastic year precipitate the Conference business into an early closure, or did the early closure of the Conference business, and the loss of the money-stream, decide the Trustees that there was no hope of keeping the College open if the Conference business closed?
One day, perhaps, we shall learn the whole story. But, as of now, the omens for Ushaw College do not look good!
Father,
ReplyDeleteI no longer know what to think. I go back to something I wrote a couple of months ago: at Grand Week this year, there was no talk whatever of a looming crisis. Indeed, the talk was of the future. The anniversary book published in 2008 makes no mention of any crisis, again, the future looked positive.
I understood the Conference Centre was doing good business, as were the other ancillary activities associated with it. The Centre were instructed to continue accepting bookings for 2011.
Then suddenly, completely out of the blue, the announcement came last week. Now, to those of a suspicious frame of mind, it could appear that the last thing in the world the Trustees wanted was a business plan, based on the Conference Centre and a Traditional Seminary. So, get the Centre closed quickly, so that knocks out the chocks from under whatever structure may have emerged.
Father, am I right in feeling nothing but disgust at the way this whole sorry affair has been handled? I dread the prospect of Ushaw going the way of the Junior House, and I wonder if I am the only one who feels such a sense of foreboding.
Terry Middleton
Rev Father,
ReplyDeleteYou mention a chicken and egg situation. Might I suggest a third possibility. As you say, the conference centre was providing the finances, to a degree, to keep the college open. Perhaps the suggestions that the college might adapt from its current failings to accept a more orthodox/conservative/traditional ethos has startled the trustees. In their determination NOT to accept any such transformation, even though it is proving successful elsewhere, have they decided that the revenue-producing side of things must be cut off immediately in order to scuttle such an outcome. A priest in Rome told me recently that he would bet his life that Ushaw would close before accepting anything of a traditional nature. In order to emphasise his statement he repeated it.
For all of its existence Ushaw has relied on funding from the laity. In 1803 an appeal to the laity raised enough money to start building the east wing. Further appeals were made in 1814, 1837, 1843, and even as recently as 1958. In addition to these special appeals to the laity there were also the annual parish collections for the Priest Training Fund. So the laity were very important when money was needed but when decisions are taken by the hierarchy to close Ushaw they are kept in the dark. If the situation is so dire why did the trustees (the northern bishops) not explain the problem and ask publicly for advice from business leaders? Why have these decisions been taken in secret behind closed doors? Bishops, quite understandably, are not experts in matters of business and commerce. If viable business plans have been put forward for the possible salvation of the college why have these not been published by the bishops for public consideration? The people of the northern province deserve more from the trustees than a bald statement that the college is to close. There is a 200-year history of goodwill and thanksgiving for this venerable college and the priests it produced to serve the people of the villages and towns of the north. It must not be allowed to close in these unhappy circumstances without some explanation. The people, the seminarians, and the staff deserve no less. I am sure that enough money would be forthcoming to keep it afloat until a proper analysis by experienced business people could be conducted and published. But, as I suggested, perhaps the trustees would rather see it close than attempt anything conservative or traditional. The priest in Rome was adamant about this. Perhaps he knew something that I did not?
Rev Father,
ReplyDeleteYou mention a chicken and egg situation. Might I suggest a third possibility. As you say, the conference centre was providing the finances, to a degree, to keep the college open. Perhaps the suggestions that the college might adapt from its current failings to accept a more orthodox/conservative/traditional ethos has startled the trustees. In their determination NOT to accept any such transformation, even though it is proving successful elsewhere, have they decided that the revenue-producing side of things must be cut off immediately in order to scuttle such an outcome. A priest in Rome told me recently that he would bet his life that Ushaw would close before accepting anything of a traditional nature. In order to emphasise his statement he repeated it.
For all of its existence Ushaw has relied on funding from the laity. In 1803 an appeal to the laity raised enough money to start building the east wing. Further appeals were made in 1814, 1837, 1843, and even as recently as 1958. In addition to these special appeals to the laity there were also the annual parish collections for the Priest Training Fund. So the laity were very important when money was needed but when decisions are taken by the hierarchy to close Ushaw they are kept in the dark. If the situation is so dire why did the trustees (the northern bishops) not explain the problem and ask publicly for advice from business leaders? Why have these decisions been taken in secret behind closed doors? Bishops, quite understandably, are not experts in matters of business and commerce. If viable business plans have been put forward for the possible salvation of the college why have these not been published by the bishops for public consideration? The people of the northern province deserve more from the trustees than a bald statement that the college is to close. There is a 200-year history of goodwill and thanksgiving for this venerable college and the priests it produced to serve the people of the villages and towns of the north. It must not be allowed to close in these unhappy circumstances without some explanation. The people, the seminarians, and the staff deserve no less. I am sure that enough money would be forthcoming to keep it afloat until a proper analysis by experienced business people could be conducted and published. But, as I suggested, perhaps the trustees would rather see it close than attempt anything conservative or traditional. The priest in Rome was adamant about this. Perhaps he knew something that I did not?