Top officials are leaving two area private universities following precipitous declines in enrollment and finances.
Fontbonne University, in Clayton, recently said five administrators were leaving the college.
And three Webster University leaders have resigned or are leaving the troubled Webster Groves college.
Webster Chief Financial Officer Rick Meyer has retired and University Secretary Jeanelle Wiley left for another job. Chief Communications Officer Lisa Brown is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Her last day is Friday, spokesman Patrick Giblin said.
Their departures follow the resignation of Webster Chancellor Beth Stroble, who left at the end of last year after overseeing years of falling enrollment and financial troubles — and the university reported a $37 million deficit at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.
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William Donovan, who most recently worked for a commercial real estate firm, has been named interim CFO. The university said a nationwide search for a permanent CFO will be announced at a later date.
“Bill has a proven track record of success in multiple financial sectors, from banking to real estate to national and international companies, and his experience will help guide the University and its world-wide operations,” Webster University President Julian Schuster said in a release. “I am confident that he will continue to keep our University on the right financial track as we continue to grow our revenues and manage costs.”
Over the past decade, Webster University experienced a 50% drop in enrollment and collectively lost $128 million over those years.
Meanwhile, the university’s board of trustees continually awarded raises to its top leadership, making Stroble and Schuster among the highest-paid university leaders in the region. It faced a lawsuit over unpaid rent at its satellite campus in downtown Ƶ. And its bond rating also has fallen into junk status.
Universities across the country are facing more competition with fewer college-aged students in the U.S. and a smaller percentage going to college.
But Webster officials have said things are improving at the school, in suburban Webster Groves: Enrollment this past fall grew 27% over last year to over 13,000 students, thanks to a focus on international students and pivot to science, technology, engineering and mathematics degree programs, officials said.
Meyer served as CFO since 2018. He earned $157,000 in 2022, according to the latest available salary information.
Wiley had worked as the university secretary since 2013, where she acted as a liaison between university leaders and its board of trustees and as a liaison for Webster’s external legal team. She earned $123,545 in 2022.
Brown was appointed as chief communications officer in 2022. She first joined Webster in 2020. No salary information was disclosed.
Staff turnover is also underway at Fontbonne University, where leaders are trying to address a $5.2 million deficit.
Fontbonne staff received an email Jan. 11 that said five colleagues would be leaving the university for “other career opportunities,” including director of human resources Steve Loher and registrar Katie Piacentini.
The others — an undergraduate academic advisor, librarian and director of career development — will depart in the next month.
Ray Karasek, Fontbonne’s chief financial officer, will take on the role of director of human resources, the email said.
Fontbonne’s vice president for marketing, Quinton Clay, resigned last fall after the university announced the elimination of 21 academic majors and 19 faculty positions among budget cuts of more than $2 million.
The private Catholic institution in Clayton has experienced a 60% loss in enrollment and declining revenues topping $14 million over the past decade.