Alderson Broaddus files for bankruptcy and will liquidate its assets 

Alderson Broaddus has filed for bankruptcy, a month after the university was forced to begin closing its doors because of its financial troubles.

According to the filing, the university owed money to between 100 and 199 creditors, totaling between $10-$50 million, 

AB’s assets total between $1-$10 million, the filing said. 

The small, private university filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the state’s northern district. AB Interim President Andrea Bucklew signed the filing. 

The university’s debt problems went public this summer, when MetroNews reported that the school owed the city of Philippi nearly $800,000 in unpaid utilities bills. AB had other long-standing financial issues, including an outstanding $27 million federal loan, which culminated in the bankruptcy filing. 

AB issued a press release about its bankruptcy on Thursday, saying that the bankruptcy court will appoint a trustee to oversee the collection and liquidation of AB’s assets and payments to creditors. 

“The AB Board is grateful to the students, employees, alumni and donors who have embodied the Christian spirit of the University, and through them, the legacy of AB will live on,” said AB Board Chair James Garvin in the release. 

At the end of July, The Higher Education Policy Commission voted to revoke the university’s authorization to confer degrees in the state, effective at the end of this year, because of its mountain of debt. Only students who would finish their degrees by December were allowed to return to campus.

The HEPC told West Virginia Watch earlier this month that they believed all AB students who wanted to continue in higher education were able to enroll elsewhere for the fall semester.

A number of in-state universities accepted the displaced AB students, and some universities received special enrollment cap extensions to accommodate the physician assistant students, who have been difficult to re-enroll because the program is highly competitive. 

AB leaders told the HEPC that they issued refunds to students who paid the 2023 tuition.

The school’s enrollment has been around 750 students, and the majority of its students received athletic scholarships. 

Student academic and financial records have been transferred to West Virginia Wesleyan. Alumni can access their records there, as well.