11 June 2025 Wells College and Hobart and William Smith Colleges Announce Legacy Agreement
PRESS RELEASE
Following the closure of Wells College in 2024, a legacy agreement has been finalized and submitted to New York State Supreme Court in Cayuga County that transfers stewardship of Wells’ records, endowment and some historical materials to Hobart and William Smith Colleges as the legacy institution.
A legacy institution (sometimes called a “repository,” “partner” or “steward”) retains the student, employee and financial records of an institution that has closed. The legacy institution maintains, as possible, some specific material and cultural history of the closed college, as determined by the closed college’s Board of Trustees. A legacy institution is not responsible for the closed institutions’ financials or liabilities, does not own the closed college’s physical campus, and does not own the closed college’s charter or accreditation. The closed college is required by New York State educational guidelines to responsibly wind down its operations and steward its assets in a manner that honors its mission.
“This agreement with Hobart and William Smith, an institution with which we share our core values, is deeply meaningful to both preserving our past and making certain our legacy is
honored with integrity,” says Marie Chapman Carroll ‘75, the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Wells College. “We are delighted with the support shown to Wells by Hobart and William Smith, as it welcomed nearly 70 former Wells students to its classrooms and community in the fall of 2024. Our histories have long been intertwined and now will be for perpetuity.”
The Wells College Board of Trustees conducted many intensive listening sessions and conversations with their graduates on how best to preserve and perpetuate the Wells legacy.
Both institutions worked to develop this agreement, which has been approved by the respective Boards of Trustees of each institution.
“Hobart and William Smith and Wells have had a shared mission to educate students through the liberal arts, and we were proud to welcome so many transfer students to HWS from Wells last semester,” says Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17, the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Hobart and William Smith. “We are pleased to be in a position to honor the 156-year history of Wells College, to ensure safekeeping of vital institutional records, and to welcome Wells alumni into the HWS community.”
The legacy agreement states that Hobart and William Smith will take steps to honor the Wells legacy at its Houghton House Arts Campus by naming a lawn The Wells Green. HWS will preserve and put on display the Minerva statue, a longstanding symbol of Wells’ mission and history. In addition, two Wells-affiliated candidates will join the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees.
For a collection of questions and answers related to the legacy agreement, please visit www.hws.edu/wells or www.wells.edu.
