The wolf was at the door for Marygrove College.
After nearly a century, the small liberal arts college in Northwest Detroit was drowning in debt and enrollment was shrinking.
The only option appeared to be selling off the iconic English Gothic buildings on 53 wooded acres in hopes of paying off the debt, which would have left an enormous hole in Detroit’s Bagley and Fitzgerald neighborhoods.
But Daniel Howes, Detroit News business columnist, joined Stateside to say there will be a new chapter for the 91-year-old college, and how that came together is a lesson in helping vulnerable urban institutions reinvent themselves for this century.
Listen above for the full conversation to hear what the vision for Marygrove's future looks like, the role that this institution plays in the local neighborhoods, and what this can teach other struggling urban colleges.
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