Holy Family College closing

The 2020 graduating class of Holy Family College in Manitowoc will be its last. The college announced today it was closing Aug. 29 — the end of the summer term.

“We will work with all other students to assist them in transferring to other schools so they may pursue and complete their college education,” Sister Natalie Binversie, community director of the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, said in a statement. “This was a most difficult decision, and it was made only after a lot of discernment, much discussion and prayerful consideration of all the options.”

In announcing the closure of the private Catholic school, Binversie cited fundraising challenges and the “onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity sponsor the college, which opened in 1935 as Holy Family College before changing its name to Silver Lake College in 1972. The school returned to its previous name in 2019.

“Everyone at the college has been working hard to achieve enrollment growth and increased fundraising, especially college President Dr. Robert Callahan,” Binversie said. “Under his leadership, good progress was made in addressing several years of earlier negative fiscal performance, and overall, he did a great job. However, the tough challenges were made even tougher with the COVID-19 outbreak, and we collectively made this difficult decision.”

Holy Family College did not release the number of current students, but in 2016 there were 429 students enrolled.