UArts student shares testimony of fallout at news conference

As president of University of the Arts Student Association, Alex McFadden routinely met with the school’s top officials. They sat on the selection committee that helped pick Kerry Walk as president. So when the school closed with just a week’s notice in June, shocking the city and changing the lives of thousands of staff, students, and alumni, McFadden blamed themself, the 2024 UArts graduate said Thursday — feeling like they should have seen the devastation coming. It wasn’t until state officials stepped in that McFadden realized the closure was not their fault, they said. McFadden spoke at a news conference where legislators touted a recently passed law they say is designed to prevent what happened at UArts from occurring again: a Pennsylvania college collapsing with no advance warning, and few protections for students and staff.