Dive Brief:
- Virginia State University President Keith Miller on Friday agreed to resign, effective Dec. 31, due to pressure from students as the historically black school faces enrollment drops, financial issues, and cuts in student services.
- More than 950 students had signed petitions calling for Miller's resignation, as well as the school’s provost and chief financial officer, and the single resignation disappointed students who wanted more, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
- The university’s board plans to name an interim president at its November meeting and start a national search for a president in January.
Dive Insight:
VSU’s board gave Miller a nice incentive for going quietly, extending his $356,524 salary for 12 months and letting him stay on as tenured faculty. Miller came to the university in 2010 from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, and his contract was to run through July 1, 2017. Enrollment at the school dropped more than 10% this year, to 4,995, and the school faced a budget shortfall of $19 million from a loss of anticipated student revenue and state budget cuts.