Wittenberg has had 14 presidents in it’s 170 years, and four since 1974. Joyner was the university’s first female president.
Laurie Joyner - 2012 to 2015
Mark Erickson - 2005 to 2012
William Steinbrink - interim
Baird Tipson - 1995 to 2004
William Kinnison - 1974 to 1995
More at SpringfieldNewsSun.com: Explore a full history of Wittenberg University presidents, including New-Sun archive images, and a detailed, interactive timeline of the university’s financial woes at springfieldnewssun.com.
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has closely tracked Wittenberg’s financial issues for several years, one of Springfield’s major employers, including stories digging into its credit ratings, cuts and leadership changes.
By the numbers
By the numbers
471 — Faculty and staff members at Wittenberg in 2014.
1,850 — Students at Wittenberg.
$70 million — Estimated economic impact on Springfield.
$56.5 million — Annual expense budget for fiscal year 2016.
$6.5 million — Structural deficit projected for end of fiscal year 2015.
More at SpringfieldNewsSun.com: Explore a full history of Wittenberg University presidents, including New-Sun archive images, and a detailed, interactive timeline of the university’s financial woes at springfieldnewssun.com.
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has closely tracked Wittenberg’s financial issues for several years, one of Springfield’s major employers, including stories digging into its credit ratings, cuts and leadership changes.
By the numbers
By the numbers
471 — Faculty and staff members at Wittenberg in 2014.
1,850 — Students at Wittenberg.
$70 million — Estimated economic impact on Springfield.
$56.5 million — Annual expense budget for fiscal year 2016.
$6.5 million — Structural deficit projected for end of fiscal year 2015.
President Laurie Joyner’s departure from Wittenberg University just weeks after announcing $6.5 million in cuts may have been unexpected but it was likely inevitable.
That’s according to many who’ve served the 170-year-old university, both past and present, interviewed by the Springfield News-Sun since Joyner resigned Nov. 6.
Leaders who make unpopular but likely necessary decisions to balance a budget don’t last long, higher education experts said.
But the university is bigger than any one president, board or round of budget cuts, local leaders said, and will prevail through the upheaval.
“Wittenberg’s going to be here long after us,” said Fred Leventhal, a former board member and sponsor of an annual lecture in the Wittenberg Series.
Other past board members admitted financial issues weren’t fully addressed prior to Joyner’s hiring in 2012 and said she was brought in specifically to make painful cuts.
“She came in and was facing a difficult situation. The can had been kicked down the road for many years. I think she felt she had to do some things. But in doing so, you alienate some people,” former board member Tom Loftis said.
Addressing rumors that Joyner was forced out or fired, university Board Chairman Thomas Murray said, “Rumors are just that, rumors. They deserve no comment. Dr. Joyner resigned and the board accepted her resignation. We are thankful for Dr. Joyner’s time, effort and results at Wittenberg.”
Those results, including the recently announced cuts, remain in place as the university faces the ongoing challenges of attracting students in a competitive market, cutting spending and growing its $100 million endowment.
The board plans to name an interim president in the next four to six weeks, Murray said, possibly an experienced, retired president. That person will serve at least through the second semester and maybe as long as 18 months, he said, until a permanent replacement is found.
Presidential turnover speeding up
Wittenberg has had just four presidents since 1974.
William Kinnison served for 21 years. Baird Tipson for nine. After a one-year interim, Mark Erickson was hired in 2005 and was president for seven years.
Laurie Joyner, the first female president, served for just over three years.
“If you get a presidential appointment at most colleges and spend five years, you have absolutely served out the max,” Loftis said. “The cycle for presidents is shortened and that’s because of the pressure of the job.”
A significant increase in presidential turnover has occurred over the past decade, according to the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio.
“It has become more difficult and it has become a more complex job,” said C. Todd Jones, association president.
Increasingly presidents aren’t just fundraising, he said. They must understand and navigate government regulations and accreditation rules. They must deal with business and community interest groups as well as the media environment.
He cited this week’s news from the University of Missouri where protests over the school’s handling of racially charged incidents led to the resignation of the president and chancellor.
Baird Tipson, Wittenberg’s president from 1995 to 2004, said he was impressed with Joyner.
“Whatever occurred, I am saddened for her and for Wittenberg,” he said.
The News-Sun also reached out to former presidents Kinnison and Erickson. Erickson didn’t return a message and Kinnison said he had no comment.
"Al Strozdas was the city manager here for years. And he used to say, you know the reason you change city managers every five or six years is because every year you make very tough decisions and every time you make a tough decision you alienate a certain segment of the population. And ultimately, after five or six years, you've alienated more than 50 percent," Loftis said. "I just assume she either ran out of energy or got tired of it or the pain just became too much."
Burnout is definitely a factor for many university presidents today, Jones said, and the margin for error in a competitive market like Ohio is slim.
Joyner hasn’t returned multiple calls for comment about why she left.
Many in the community have praised her willingness to make the tough decisions, but numerous faculty said they were bothered by her management style.
“She ended up with a very big job, a very difficult job. And I don’t think there is any constituency at Wittenberg that didn’t understand that. It’s a matter of sometimes the speed at which you do it and the way you handle it,” Loftis said.
For Leventhal, it was the decision to sue the university’s former law firm earlier this year that made him leave the board.
“I had a difference of opinion with (Joyner) and I did resign,” he said. “I didn’t like the way it was handled.”
History of financial woes
Like Joyner, Erickson’s resignation in 2012 came as a shock to many. But he made the announcement a year in advance of his departure, giving the board time to select his replacement.
He didn’t have another job lined up at the time — later accepting the presidency at Northampton Community College — and simply said it was time to, “pass the baton of leadership.”
But administrators, faculty and board members told the News-Sun then that ongoing financial woes likely contributed to his departure.
About a month after Erickson announced his resignation, Moody’s Investors Service dropped Wittenberg’s bond rating two notches from Baa2 to Ba1 — from the moderate to substantial credit risk category and from investment grade to speculative.
The downgrades continued in 2012 and 2013.
When the rating agency dropped Wittenberg into the high credit risk category — B1 — in June 2013 analysts cited a continued spending down of cash to support operations and debt service payments; a recent history of deep operating deficits and negative cash flow; stagnant enrollment growth and aggressive tuition discounting; and an aggressive endowment investment portfolio compared to similar-sized institutions.
The report said 80 percent of the university’s revenue came from student tuition and fees in an increasingly competitive market of small liberal arts colleges.
Moody’s highlighted Joyner’s hiring as a strength.
“New president, who started in July 2012, is working with management and the board to improve Wittenberg’s financial position. The board has recruited or replaced other key management positions, implemented new strategic and operational initiatives and detailed internal performance measurement standards,” the report said.
Indications of the university’s declining financial health existed before Erickson’s departure. Moody’s had previously downgraded Wittenberg in 2003 and 2007.
And In 2010, Forbes named the university to a list of financially strained schools, saying its expenses exceeded revenue by $7 million in fiscal year 2008.
Wittenberg officials dismissed that report and touted a recent $5.5 million renovation of Blair Hall and $35 million investment in new construction as signs of financial strength. Despite the recession, Wittenberg had cut no programs, faculty or support services, then Dean of Students Sarah Kelly told the News-Sun in 2010.
“At that time we did not make the decision to make the cuts that we knew had to be made. And that is an area that I do regret,” Loftis said.
That’s the same year Wittenberg used an undisclosed amount of endowment funds to buy and renovate the building that houses the Springfield Museum of Art.
The university is now suing its former law firm Martin, Browne, Hull and Harper, alleging misconduct including a conflict of interest in that purchase.
The complaint states the endowment has suffered, “substantial losses relating to multiple, past university actions.”
Former board members say hindsight is 20/20.
“Everyone tries to do what they think is right at the time and in hindsight that may be viewed differently,” said Pete Noonan, who left the board years before the 2010 transaction. “I know that dipping into the endowment was not done lightly. It was always a debate.”
Loftis countered Joyner’s claims that previous boards’ actions equated to mismanagement or dereliction of duty.
“They made decisions that the administration at that time thought were appropriate, and were ways to grow the university and address its immediate needs. Some of them worked out. Some did not,” he said.
Financial outlook improving
Wittenberg’s bond rating has now been steady for two years.
Moody’s noted in July that Wittenberg had sufficient cash flow to cover its annual debt service this year, a full two-years ahead of its goal.
The leadership’s commitment to balancing the operating budget and strong gift revenue were mentioned as additional strengths.
But the work isn’t done, leaders said, and the university still faces the same challenges it’s been grappling with for more than a decade.
“There is severe competition in colleges in Ohio and the upper Midwest, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana,” Loftis said. “There’s a smaller pool of students.”
And more students receive financial aid, cutting further into Wittenberg’s revenue. More than 60 percent of Wittenberg freshman are getting some tuition discount, according to Moody’s.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the schools to give scholarships and discount tuition, and that puts a lot of pressure on the budget,” Loftis said.
Wittenberg’s endowment has grown by more than $15 million in the past six years, but is still much smaller than its competitors. Denison University has an endowment approaching $700 million, according to its most recent tax filing available. College of Wooster’s is nearly $250 million. Kenyon College’s stands at $193 million.
Now that the university has committed to cutting its budget, Noonan said the focus needs to be on fundraising.
“You need to figure out a way to grow your income as well as manage your expenses,” he said. “They need to address admissions, advancement and alumni.”
Everyone interviewed agreed that getting a strong leader in place soon is key to moving forward, including mending relationships with potential donors.
“I don’t think you should penalize the school or the students or its future by holding the actions of either a board or an administration totally accountable,” Loftis said. “Some of these things are beyond personalities. It’s just economics. Economics just caught up with the school.”
‘More than a diploma’
At a forum at Weaver Chapel on Thursday that was streamed online, university leaders said they are confident Wittenberg will persevere because of the strength of the community.
“Wittenberg is more than a diploma or a paycheck,” political science Professor Ed Hasecke said. “It’s relationships.”
He reminded everyone that it’s not the first time the university has endured times of rapid change. When he was a student in the mid-1990s, the university transitioned from trimesters to semesters and had to redo the curriculum to match.
Joyner’s departure hasn’t changed the board’s resolve to implement the necessary cuts, said Jonathan Eilert, an alum and board member.
“We are sorry at times the timetable has seemed rushed,” he said, but quick action was deemed necessary to avoid compounding financial losses.
The university is committed to helping those affected by the cuts transition, including retirees losing their health benefits at the end of the year, he said.
“We need a balanced budget and I haven’t heard anyone across campus disagree with that fact,” Murray said in a statement. “There is still much process to be followed to review the academic programs and non-academic services as previously announced; however, the deadline sensitive reductions will be moving forward.”
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