Philadelphia City Councilman Mark Squilla calls for investigation into University of the Arts closure

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia City Councilman Mark Squilla is calling for an investigation into the abrupt closure of the University of the Arts.

Squilla introduced a resolution on Thursday that passed the City Council calling for hearings on closing UArts.

“It’s up to us as elected officials to call hearings to get to the bottom of what happened,” Squilla said. “How do we protect both the students and the staff and the people who work there, but also the city as a whole? The University of Arts is a major institution in the city of Philadelphia and we need to do everything in our power to save it and make sure that the process that was initiated was done appropriately and that any answers we get are the right answers.”

Squilla said he was “totally shocked” when news of the school’s closure broke last week. He said the city will explore other options, including Possibility of merging with other universities in the city and in collaboration with state and federal partners.

“We really need to hold people accountable,” Squilla said. “We really need to look at the challenges it presents for the students and the staff and make sure that we can give them the answers they deserve in that process.”

Earlier this week, Two lawsuits have been filed against UArtsincluding one from a group of faculty members who belong to the United Academics of Philadelphia union.

The School abruptly announced last week that it would be closed on Friday and the university President Kerry Walk has resigned on Tuesday.

UArts also abruptly canceled a town hall meeting on Monday while students sought answers about the closure during a large demonstration on Broad Street.

While students and staff continue to search for fundamental answers, Middle States Commission on Higher Education stated that the reason for the closure of the university was liquidity problems.

“I just want to know what happened and I want to know what my employment status is,” said Jean Murphy, who works at UArts. “I want to know when my pay is coming. I want to know if I’m going to get paid for my vacation.”

Squilla said he would do whatever he could to save UArts.

“We’re on their side here. The University of Arts is a treasure. The fact that they’re studying in Philadelphia is something we want to protect and we want to give them every opportunity to study here in Philadelphia. And the people who work there — a lot of people spend their whole lives at this institution and we want to make sure that they’re protected as well by slowing down this process and not just taking their response and saying, ‘It’s over, sorry, it’s over.’ I think as an elected body, we have more say here and hopefully do everything we can to put those protections in place.”