WEBSTER GROVES — The chancellor of Webster University will resign at the end of 2023 after overseeing years of falling enrollment and financial troubles.
Beth Stroble came to the university in 2009 as president and was named chancellor in 2019. After taking a sabbatical early next year, she will return to Webster to work in alumni relations and fundraising, according to a press release issued Friday.
“My experience at Webster University has been the highlight of my professional career. It has been truly an honor to work with the outstanding faculty, staff and students of this University,” Stroble said in the release. “Webster’s mission and legacy of meeting unmet needs has inspired my commitment to improving the student experience, and I will continue to support the University in the future, extending the legacy of our founders, the Sisters of Loretto.”
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Webster has experienced a 50% drop in enrollment and a loss of $128 million over the past decade. Stroble’s departure should lead to improved morale at the university, according to a leader of the faculty senate who said, “the overall feeling is that we’re positive that this is going to be a good change for the university. We wish Chancellor Stroble well and look forward to working with the trustees in securing her replacement.”
The university’s problems came to a head last month with a series of negative developments related to its finances and executive pay.
The chairman of Webster’s board of trustees said he was working with Stroble on her exit plan. Students protested on campus and the faculty issued a vote of no confidence in the chancellor along with President Julian Schuster amid growing criticism of their management of the university. And the owner of Webster’s downtown St. satellite campus sued the university over allegations it hasn’t paid the $20,000 monthly rent for most of the year.
The trustees continually awarded raises to Stroble and Schuster, making them among the highest-paid university leaders in the region. Stroble’s compensation totals just under $1 million a year and Schuster’s is more than $850,000. Schuster will continue as president, according to the release.
A global search for Stroble’s successor has started, according to Sumit Verma, Webster’s board chair.
“We thank Chancellor Stroble for her leadership and service to Webster University during the past 15 years,” Verma said in a statement. “She has led Webster University through some of the most challenging times in the history of higher education, and we are very grateful for her dedication, passion and service to this University.”
A local consultant in higher education said the problems at Webster University go deeper than its chancellor.
“I don’t know that it’s the presidential leadership so much as lack of board leadership,” Gary Stocker said. “Beth Stroble may have done a particularly bad job, but what was the board doing for the last five, six, seven, eight years? Not fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility.”
Many colleges nationwide are struggling to survive financially amid a severe drop in enrollment and pressure to lower tuition prices, said Stocker of College Viability.
“This is no surprise, but it’s not just Webster. It is endemic across the country.”