Holy Names University to close after 154 years

By Taylor Tran ’25

Holy Names University, a private Roman Catholic college in Oakland, is soon to close. This 2023 spring semester is set to be the last in the 154 years it has been open.

The university, founded in 1868, announced the closing of the school last December. They stated on their website that they’d “struggled financially as it faced rising operational costs, declining enrollment, and an increased need for institutional aid.”

HNU had been struggling for years before they announced their closing. In 2018, they established a plan to overcome “financial and environmental” hardships. And while there were aspects that helped make money, the plan overall did not change the fate of the university.

According to the HNU website, Steven Borg, board chairperson, explained, “There is not only $49 million in debt on HNU’s property, but as a 65-year old campus the costs of deferred maintenance and compliance upgrades could be over $200 million. That is a large undertaking for any college or university.”

While they attempted to look for partnerships, loans, or funding from other schools and sources over the past year in order to stay open, they were not successful in finding a viable option. Though the university is closing, they plan to keep the nursing program alive.

As for the current students’