St. Cloud State faces more uncertainty as acting president announces departure
Larry Lee, the acting president of St. Cloud State University.
St. Cloud State University — already in the midst of a leadership transition — will now have to find a new person to guide the school through its financial woes.
Acting university President Larry Lee announced in a letter to faculty and staff Monday that he has accepted a job as president of Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois. Lee also serves as SCSU’s vice president of finance and administration.
Lee took over as SCSU’s acting president earlier this month after former President Robbyn Wacker’s early departure. Wacker had previously said she would stay through the end of her contract, which was set to expire June 30.
SCSU announced in April that it had appointed former Illinois State University President Larry Dietz as interim president to replace Wacker. In his letter, Lee said he would remain as acting president until Dietz takes over on July 1.
“I care deeply for St. Cloud State University and have cherished the trust that faculty and staff have bestowed upon me,” Lee wrote. “I have enjoyed developing solutions to our challenges in partnership with all of you, and I believe wholeheartedly in a bright future for this University. I’d love to stay and see it from the inside, but instead will enjoy watching SCSU flourish from afar.”
With Lee’s departure, SCSU will need to find a new chief financial officer to oversee its budgetary troubles. Dan Golombiecki, the university’s associate vice president of finance and administration, will serve in his place in the interim.
Earlier this month, Lee laid out SCSU’s budget challenges, stating in a letter that the university was at an $18 million deficit last year and is projected to lose another $5 million in 2024.
Now, layoffs are on the table. The university is considering 13% reductions in its administrative staff and faculty — a loss of 57 faculty members.
In the prior budget year, SCSU had cut 36 staff members — both faculty and non-faculty — and stopped admitting students to 70 academic programs.