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'Shocked By Turn Of Events': Belleville Mayor On Partial Closure Of Lindenwood's Illinois Campus

Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert
Photo courtesy of Mayor Mark Eckert

Earlier this week, St. Charles-based Lindenwood University announced it would cease its daytime undergraduate academic programs at its Belleville campus following the 2019-2020 academic year.

On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert joined guest host Ruth Ezell to talk about what the consolidation means for the community. He said the university’s announcement to close parts of the campus and the termination of various positions leading up to the announcement came as a surprise.

“We’ve seen, since the first week of February, an enormous amount of unrest at Lindenwood [and] uncertainty,” Eckert said. “But I was shocked by the turn of events this week, I certainly was.”

There are about 1,200 undergraduate students at the Belleville campus and about 160 full- and part-time faculty and staff. Listen to the full discussion to hear more about what led up to the closure and what’s next for the Lindenwood-Belleville properties:

Lindenwood University declined an invitation to have a representative join the program.

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Alex Heuer, Evie Hemphill and Lara Hamdan. The engineer is Aaron Doerr and the call screener is Charlie McDonald.

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Lara is the Engagement Editor at St. Louis Public Radio.