Leadership Change at Ursinus College
Ursinus College, a small liberal arts institution located in Collegeville, recently experienced a significant leadership change. Robyn E. Hannigan, the college’s president, was abruptly removed from her position on Thursday. Her official webpage was also taken down, signaling the sudden nature of the decision.
“I met with the board this morning,” Hannigan, 60, said in a phone call. “I was let go. It’s the board’s decision. It’s not for cause. The board wanted to go in a different direction.” She did not provide further details about the meeting or the reasons behind the decision.
The college released a statement confirming that the decision was made by the board of trustees and claimed it was “in the best interests of the college’s long-term success.” Joseph DeSimone, chair of the board and a 1986 graduate of Ursinus, declined to elaborate on the reasons for the departure, referring to it as a personnel matter.
This leadership change comes at a critical time for the college, just before the start of homecoming weekend. The move follows a period of financial and enrollment challenges. First-year enrollment dropped by 10% this fall, and overall enrollment decreased by 6.4%, standing at 1,406 students.
Hannigan explained that the college is facing a structural deficit, where revenues are insufficient to cover expenses. In an interview with the student newspaper, The Grizzly, she mentioned that the college took steps last year to address these issues through the APEX program, which aims to align academics with experiential learning and career preparation.
APEX includes initiatives such as offering up to $2,000 for internships, team-based career coaching, and a week-long real-world problem-solving session for first-year students. These efforts are expected to help improve enrollment and strengthen the college’s future.
The college plans to hold a town hall meeting for faculty and staff at noon on Friday. Hannigan emphasized that the leadership change should not reflect negatively on the strength of the college or its direction. “It is the nature of the business that we are in,” she told The Inquirer.
The news has shocked the campus community. Senior Renee Washart, editor-in-chief of The Grizzly, expressed disbelief. “I was just baffled,” she said. “I did not see this coming at all.” Washart noted that she had met with Hannigan just days earlier and there were no signs of the change.
When the email about the leadership change was sent out, Washart’s phone “started blowing up.” Even her professor was hearing about it for the first time.
Hannigan, an academic in the sciences and holder of several patents, was under a contract that would have lasted for another couple of years. She will be on leave for a few weeks while a separation agreement is finalized.
Joseph DeSimone, a professor at Stanford University and chair of the board, announced that Gundolf Graml, the provost, will serve as interim president. “The board has full confidence in Dr. Graml to ensure continuity of operations and to advance the college’s strategic priorities,” the college stated.
DeSimone added that there are no current plans to launch a search for a new president, stating that Graml and the executive team are well-positioned to lead the college forward. He also mentioned that applications and donations are up.
Hannigan joined Ursinus in July 2022, coming from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., where she served as provost. She was the first permanent female leader of Ursinus and the first of Native American descent.
In a 2022 interview with The Inquirer, Hannigan shared her background as a first-generation college student. She spoke about how her parents worked hard to save enough for her first year of college, and how her older brother chose to forgo college so she could attend.
Hannigan grew up in New Jersey and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of New Jersey, a master’s in geology from SUNY Buffalo, and a doctoral degree in earth and environmental science from the University of Rochester.
She described her departure from Ursinus as “a friendly separation.” “The college has been doing great work in trying to turn around and do what it needs to do to thrive in the future,” she said.
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