JTA — Hampshire College, the nontraditional liberal-arts school that pioneered college-level Holocaust classes and played a central role in launching the acclaimed Yiddish Book Center, announced Tuesday that it will shutter at the end of the calendar year.

The closure, which comes after years of financial troubles, won’t affect the Yiddish Book Center, which operates on land purchased from the college in Amherst, Massachusetts.

“We are saddened by Hampshire College’s announcement,” Susan Bronson, president of the Yiddish Book Center, said in a statement. “Hampshire has been a valued neighbor for many years, and we recognize the significance of this moment for its community.”

Founded by Hampshire alum Aaron Lansky in 1980 as an effort to save Yiddish-language publications from extinction, the Yiddish Book Center purchased the land for its permanent campus space from the college in 1997. It expanded 12 years later and today owns its property outright, though the center has contracted with the college in the past to provide dorm space and other amenities for programs and conferences.

The center was at the vanguard of a larger Yiddish-interest revival that also encompassed the college, as when the two institutions partnered to offer Yiddish classes, which are popular offerings in Amherst.

“The financial pressures on the College’s operations have become increasingly complex, compounded by shifting external factors,”........

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