A Nashville Art School Made Headlines When Announced a Merger With a Christian University. But a New Lawsuit Could Stop It

In late January, the Watkins
College of Art in Nashville, Tennessee announced that it would be absorbed by Belmont
University, a local
ecumenical institution, inciting an uproar among current students
and faculty. But since
then, the merger has been anything but clean. A judge, a state
senator, and a real estate firm have all stepped in to either
question the deal or suggest an alternative solution.

Student groups at Watkins have
staged numerous protests since learning that they would be forced
to start next semester on a private, Christian campus with a poor
track record of supporting free expression and the voices LGBTQ+
communities. In mid-February, Watkins’s president J. Kline, who
arranged the deal with Belmont and has been criticized by opponents
for his lack of transparency in the negotiation process, was placed
on paid administrative leave after faculty held a vote of no
confidence. 

Last week, two Watkins students
and a faculty member filed a complaint in county court alleging
that the agreed-upon deal between the schools is illegal because
the art school is a public institution located on public property.
They also filed for a restraining order to block the deal from
taking place until the court has had the opportunity to review the
case. 

“Giving away the public assets
of the Watkins Trust to a private religious entity without due
process violates multiple state laws, and would cause irreparable
harm to [those who filed the complaint],” said a representative for
Save Watkins, a collective of students, faculty, staff, and alumni
from the school who oppose the deal. (Both the students and the
faculty member who filed the complaint belong to Save
Watkins.)

“The Watkins Board has
repeatedly ignored or rebuffed lawful requests for public records
relating to the deal, and have single-mindedly pursued a path that
will cause harm and hardship to our students, particularly those in
the LGBTQ community who will be adversely affected by Belmont’s
overtly religious culture and policies,” the representative
added.

A Nashville judge will consider
the restraining order in a hearing set for this
week. 

A day after the injunction was
filed, Tennessee state senator Brenda Gilmore issued a letter to
the Watkins Commissioners and Board of Trustees, urging them to
suspend any negotiations with Belmont until a community meeting can
be held. 

“As an educational institution
that was established by the legislature and by state law is
overseen by Commissioners, appointed by the Governor, it is
troubling that I was not informed, nor consulted, prior to [the] deal being announced…” Gilmore wrote.

In the letter, she also wondered
why two historically black institutions “right in Watkins’
backyard”—Tennessee State University and Fisk University—weren’t
approached with the deal as well. “In any event, the public
deserves transparency,” she said. 

State senator Gilmore did not
respond to Artnet’s request for comment. 

The latest chapter in the saga
came last Thursday when Somera Road, Inc., a commercial real estate
firm based in New York, offered to buy Watkins’s property for $17 million and
lease it back to the school at 30 percent under market rate, with
the first year rent-free. The firm would also supply a $1 million
dollar fund to the institution to cover any short-term financial
needs.

“We’ve to-date only received
acknowledgement of the offer and [a message saying], ‘The Watkins
Board and its Real Estate Special Committee [are reviewing]’ and
will get back to us,” Somera
Road principal Joe LeMense, Jr., tells Artnet, noting his belief
that there is “certainly interest on their end in completing
the deal.”

“We feel our offer best provides the
Watkins College of Art relief from current capital constraints and
an opportunity to remain a fully independent institution operating
from its current location for many years to come,” he adds.

Watkins College of Art has not
yet responded to Artnet’s request for comment.

The post A Nashville Art School Made Headlines When
Announced a Merger With a Christian University. But a New Lawsuit
Could Stop It appeared first on artnet News.