‘They don’t care about us’: Students hurt, confused by Michigan college’s downsizing

ANN ARBOR, MI - Kaleigh McClelland enrolled at her dream school last fall, joining the defending national champion softball team at Concordia University Ann Arbor.

Now a rising sophomore at third base, the Saline native was part of the Cardinal’s second straight National Christian College Athletic Association championship in May in Kansas City. The hope is the third generation Concordia legacy will see a bigger role on the team next spring enroute to a three-peat.

No matter what, next season will be McClelland’s last in red and white. With Concordia University eliminating athletics and downsizing its academic programs, she will certainly transfer after next season.

“As a sophomore, you thought you would get four years at the school you dreamed of,” she said, expressing disappointment in the downsizing decision made by the Board of Regents representing both Ann Arbor and the bigger Concordia campus in Mequon, Wisconsin.

“It felt like they don’t care about us.”

McClelland is one of multiple Ann Arbor students frustrated by the elimination of academic and athletic programs. The fear from them and faculty is that the move is only a step away from an impending full closure.

David Smalls, student body president and a rising senior from New York, said he hears from multiple students younger and older that communication from leadership and their motives have been confusing for months.

“It’s unfortunate that leadership has been telling us to wait it out, only for it to come to this radical downsizing of the campus,” he said. “They say they’re committed to the long-term success of the Ann Arbor campus, but their actions are demonstrating the exact opposite.”

Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor spokespeople told MLive in a statement that the decision to downsize the Ann Arbor campus came after leaders determined making the campus autonomous was not financially feasible.

“After an in-depth analysis of these reports, the Board concluded that the Ann Arbor campus does not possess the resources or ability to pursue autonomy as an independent university within the Concordia University System,” according to university officials.

The private, Lutheran-based Ann Arbor university currently offers 53 on-campus academic programs and 28 athletic programs. Only seven online academic programs will be offered in the 2025-26 school year, while all athletic teams will be discontinued after the upcoming season.

On-campus classes and activities will remain on campus during the 2024-25 school year.

During a June 6 meeting, the university’s Board of Regents said the Ann Arbor campus did not have the resources to pursue autonomy from its larger Wisconsin affiliate. The plan was to keep the Ann Arbor campus open past June 2025 while reviewing the future of academic programs.

The regents authorized university administration to make substantial changes during that meeting. During a June 19 meeting, Concordia’s Academic Council approved the adjustments coming to the Ann Arbor campus in the 2025-26 school year.

The cost-reduction measures will be used to overcome a projected combined $9-million budget shortfall at the Ann Arbor and Wisconsin campuses.

Multiple faculty members said they feared retaliation from university leadership if they spoke out against the downsizing decision. Some professors who have since left have voiced criticism, such as associate professor of religion Charles Schulz, who is leaving to work at Concordia University Chicago.

“The long and beautiful history of church work preparation on this campus is to come to an end at the close of the next school year -- a decision as heartbreaking as it is unfathomable,” he said in a Facebook post.

“Please do pray for all who are involved as they sit amid perplexity and dismay, not knowing how to go forward,” he added. “Pray for their faith not to falter.”

Smalls has only one more semester, so his academic career is unaffected by the downsizing. However, he feels the same confusion as younger students who have told him they will transfer.

“We’re all upset about what’s going on,” Smalls said. “We just don’t understand why this is happening. The whole point of this is to financially stable, but cutting to just (seven) programs makes no sense on how it’s going to create any revenue.”

The deficit for the Ann Arbor campus shrank to $2.5 million for the 2023-24 school year, about half from the year before, according to the financial report provided to the regents at the May 2024 meeting. The Wisconsin campus had a $4.2 million deficit this past academic year, the report shows.

Sam Bowling, an Ann Arbor campus student from Plymouth, said he looks at figures like these and feels frustration toward the Wisconsin-based university leadership that authorized the downsizing.

“Are you kidding me,” he said. “It’s clear Wisconsin doesn’t care for us or value us.”

Kaleigh McClelland, a rising sophomore third basemen for Concordia University Ann Arbor's softball team. Photo provided by McClelland.Kaleigh McClelland

The decision has soured McClelland on the Concordia University system, which has multiple campuses across the country from Irvine, California to Chicago.

“Things just seem really messy between the colleges,” she said.

Since university leadership announced financial issues on both campuses in February, McClelland has seen seven of her teammates transfer and multiple prospective players decommit. In the team’s hunt for a third straight national title, the roster will have only 19 players, she said.

Her goal is to not only win a title for the outgoing seniors, but to cherish her few remaining months on campus before departing.

“I’m going to give all I’ve got in this last year,” she said. “From connecting with students and professors to going to chapel, I’m going to cherish all the people and connections I’ve made.”

Smalls shares the sentiment, wanting to leave the younger students with the best experience possible.

“We have not lost hope yet despite what’s being done,” he said. “We still have faith in our campus and faith in God.”

If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor” daily newsletter.