Daily Sitka Sentinel

Major Gifts Mark End of the SJ Era

By Sentinel Staff

On June 30, 2007, Sheldon Jackson College shut down academic operations as the oldest private educational institution in Alaska, whose origins went back to the 1878 founding of a Sitka training school for Native Alaska children.

The 2007 closure left the trustees with massive debts to settle and decisions to make on the sale and transfer of the college’s hundreds of acres of land, dozens of new and old buildings and an historic campus that is a National Historic Landmark.

Sheldon Jackson College trustees pose with SJ property manager John Holst and attorney Cabot Christianson,  for a photo at their final meeting  May 7 in Allen Hall on the SJ campus. Pictured are, from left, Gary Paxton, Rev. Henry Fawcett, Rev. Jerry Van Marter, Shirley Holloway, Rob Allen, Arliss Sturgulewski, Holst and Christianson. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

At 11 a.m. Tuesday this week, exactly eight years after the college closed its doors, Sheldon Jackson College ceased to exist as an institution.

The trustees marked the end of their work to wind up the affairs of the college in an orderly way by making major gifts to two prominent successors to SJ’s educational mission.

In a quiet ceremony in front of Allen Hall, trustees Gary Paxton and Rob Allen presented a check for $211,400 to Roger Schmidt, director of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, and one for $105,700 to Lisa Busch, head of the Sitka Sound Science Center.

Sheldon Jackson College trustee Rob Allen, left, presents Lisa Busch of the Sitka Sound Science Center with a check for $105,700, while SJ Trustee Gary Paxton, right, presents $211,400 to Roger Schmidt director of Alaska Arts Southeast (Sitka Fine Arts Camp). (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

John Holst, who was hired to manage the SJ property after the closure, summed up the eventful eight years in a letter to the trustees on the eve of the dissolution of the board. 

To raise the money to repay the major creditors, Holst oversaw the sale of 200 acres of college land in Indian River Valley to the Baranof Housing Authority and the sale of campus buildings to the Sheldon Jackson Child Care Center, Sitka Counseling and Prevention, the state of Alaska, Youth Advocates of Sitka, and the Sitka Summer Music Festival and the Sitka Sound Science Center.

Residential real estate was sold to individual buyers, and the trustees also raised money with the sale of a tract of land in Crescent Park that will assure its continued use by the public; and the sale of an historic collection of glass plate negatives by early photographer E.W. Merrill, which were purchased in another fund-raising drive for preservation at Sitka National Historical Park.

But the major property transaction by the trustees was their donation of the historic central campus to Alaska Arts Southeast, the nonprofit that operates the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. In addition to the six historic central campus buildings, the transfer included such modern buildings as the Sweetland Hall dormitory and commons, Kellogg Hall apartments, Rasmuson and Yaw buildings, and the Hames Center.

The transfer of ownership inspired an ongoing project to renovate and repair the campus buildings, assisted by major gifts and grants, but primarily by the volunteer labor of hundreds of Sitkans. The result was a new burst of growth by the fine arts camp.

The Hames Athletic and Fitness Center, under direction of its own board, was refurbished and equipped for operation as a stand-alone enterprise, and home to a host of organized fitness and exercise programs.

Holst, a former superintendent of the Sitka School District, was hired by the trustees in 2010 to oversee the final disposal  of the college’s assets. He was assisted by Barbara Stocker, a former business manager for the local school district.

Holst summed up the events of the past five years in a June 29 letter to the board of trustees, which includes Shirley Holloway, Heather McCarty, Arliss Sturgulewski, Jerry Van Marter and Henry Fawcett as well as Allen and Paxton.

“I can say I never worked for a ‘tougher’ group of seven!” he said in the letter. “Not tough on Barbara and I, but just plain tenacious, dedicated and unwilling to give in or give up.

“And having the opportunity to work with an incredibly talented attorney has been a real treat,” he said, referring to college attorney Cabot Christianson. 

“It has been a pleasure and honor for us to work with you, and assist you in getting to a fitting destination, Holst said. “What you have left behind will memorialize your time and efforts.  The Fine Arts Camp and SSSC are the two most obvious.

“The Sitka Summer Music Festival now has a permanent home in Stevenson Hall. BIHA has enough property to provide housing for decades, at a real discount because of the land they own.

“Three organizations have found homes on the Campus.  The Sheldon Jackson Child Care Center, Head Start, and the 3-5 Preschool provide significant service to our citizens and their youngsters.

“The Hames PE Center is now serving a remarkably large portion of Sitka citizens, and the facility is now in better condition than at any time since its construction, as is much of the entire Campus, mostly because of the work of hundreds of volunteers.

“The Metlakatla Apartments are now home to Sitka Counseling, and eventually, Stratton Library will provide the space for a significant expansion of the premier collection of Alaska Native artifacts, the Sheldon Jackson Museum, as well as home for the SJC Archives.

“The 40-year-old Youth Advocates of Sitka is now operating out of Armstrong, working with troubled youth and coordinating a wide variety of other youth services.

“I’ve probably missed some other impacts, but your presence has left an indelible mark on Sitka.  You should all feel a deep sense of pride in making the best of a very sad situation.

“And the history of the Campus will soon be memorialized on your Sheldon Jackson College Historic Plaque that Roger Schmidt is planning to make part of new signage on Lincoln, near the past Sheldon Jackson College Campus welcoming sign. That is a good thing ... thank you Henry.”

Trustee Henry Fawcett, a Sheldon Jackson School alumnus, proposed the commissioning of a bronze memorial plaque and authored the inscription.

Holst expressed his appreciation for the “fair, open, honest, and complete, and at times, lighthearted” communication with the trustees.

“This has been the most enjoyable part of my job, and rewarding because of the wonderfully positive comments that all of you have shared over the past five years,” he said.