Nyack College to Shut Down and Sell Rockland Campus; Move Programs to NYC

NYACK, NY—Nyack College and the Alliance Theological Seminary have applied for state approval to shift their campus academic programs from Nyack to their Lower Manhattan campus. Officials with Nyack College say that the approximately 107-acre campus on 1 South Blvd. in Nyack will be put on the market for sale.

The college and seminary hope to secure state approval so that their operations will be housed solely at its Manhattan campus at 2 Washington St. by the fall of 2019.

“Nyack College is undergoing one of the most exciting changes in all of its history,” says Nyack/ATS president Mike Scales. “We have applied to the State of New York to offer all programs—academic, co-curricular, athletic, as well as operations—on our Manhattan campus. Repositioning campuses to be based in one major, urban area will reposition Nyack as a truly unique Christian college. This move will minimize rising costs and maintain high academic standards for our students.”

The college did not divulge what if any real estate firms have been retained in its planned sale of the campus that includes more than 40 buildings. There are approximately 600 students currently enrolled at the college’s Rockland campus.

“On Monday we reached the point of the New York State application process where we were advised to communicate our intentions to shift our academics, athletics, and operations to our New York City campus,” says Jeff Quinn, VP for college relations. “As we wait for final approvals, we have engaged with real estate professionals regarding options for our Rockland property. There are no final decisions at this time.”

The college states on its website the following in connection with its Rockland campus, “Currently the plan is for the Rockland campus to be sold. The proceeds from this sale will be used to strengthen Nyack in NYC, to keep our tuition affordable and to continue the mission to which we believe God has called Nyack; namely, ‘To prepare men and women to live the whole gospel in the whole world.’”

College officials say that Nyack College and the Alliance Theological Seminary are taking the appropriate steps for all operations to return to New York City, where a forerunner of Nyack College was founded in 1882.

After purchasing 28 acres, in 1897 the school moved to the village of South Nyack. In 1956 the school was renamed Nyack Missionary College and then in 1972 changed to Nyack College to reflect the total program of the college.

Alliance Theological Seminary, previously the Jaffray School of Missions, was founded as a graduate program of Nyack College in 1960.  The Jaffray School of Missions emphasized the interdisciplinary encounter between theology and the social sciences.  In 1974, the Jaffray program was redesigned to include the preparation of students for North American as well as overseas ministries. The name of the school was subsequently changed to the Alliance School of Theology and Missions.  In September of 1979, the Alliance School of Theology and Missions became Alliance Theological Seminary.

In 1995, Nyack College established a satellite program in lower Manhattan. By 1997, Alliance Theological Seminary classes were offered there as well.

Nyack College and the Alliance Theological Seminary cite a number of reasons for shifting campus programs to Manhattan and putting its storied Rockland County campus on the market for sale. The college states on its website that the Manhattan campus is large enough to handle students from Rockland, noting that the New York City campus could accommodate up to 3,000 students.

The college says that the move to New York City helps its mission because few Christian colleges operate in major cities in the US and therefore the college is going where there is a need. It also says that it plans to create strategic alliances in Manhattan to expand student internship opportunities. The move will also strengthen the college strategically and economically.

“Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary remain committed to empowering its graduates with an education that launches them into ministry, education, healing, and community-building professions around the world,” the college states on its website. “A return ‘home’ to New York City best positions the college for the future.”