Dive Brief:
- Suffolk University in Boston has terminated its president, James McCarthy, with a year remaining on his contract, appointing the former Wagner College president Norman Smith in his place.
- With his experience at Wagner and other schools, Smith has become known for his ability to turn around struggling colleges, according to the Boston Globe.
- Smith starts next week, three weeks after he was first asked about the Suffolk position. McCarthy, who joined the university in 2012, will get a modest severance package.
Dive Insight:
Suffolk is suffering a decline in enrollment and in revenue, and in June, the school froze employee salaries for one year. On the plus side, the university’s endowment has grown 52% since 2011 and its operating surplus has also grown. From the faculty’s perspective, the Globe quotes the chairman of the university senate as saying the leadership change is “disconcerting” and bound to create anxiety. Smith belongs to the Registry for College and University Presidents, which matches candidates to interim positions only. As interim-only presidents, they’re better equipped to implement unpopular changes.