“The Board of Directors is grateful for his service and leadership, and for all that he and Sharon brought to Wittenberg and Springfield. Mike has poured his heart and soul into this special place, stewarded it through a global pandemic, and led with integrity,” the email stated. “The Board thanks Mike for his years of dedication and service to our beloved university.”
The spokesperson and the letter did not specify whether the move was Frandsen’s choice, or whether the board asked him to leave. Earlier this year, Wittenberg announced it would cut dozens of employee jobs, including two dozen faculty, and would end their music and language programs, as well as some sports, amid budget problems.
As for status on the cuts, a university spokesperson said they cannot comment on personnel matters, per university policy, but can share that those affected have been notified. They said all of the majors and minors that are scheduled to be eliminated will happened at the end of the 2024-25 academic year, and the sports teams that will end have full schedules this year.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The spokesperson said Frandsen “served with distinction” in his eight years leading the university.
“His tenure actually exceeds the average tenure of a president, which is 5.9 years according to a recent comprehensive study of presidents in higher education by the American Council on Education,” the Wittenberg spokesperson said. “Following his departure at the conclusion of his current contract in June 2025, President Frandsen expects to explore a range of future opportunities.”
Two students told the News-Sun it seems to them like Frandsen is a “scapegoat” in this situation.
“Some people are speculating that he’s kind of becoming the scapegoat for what’s going on because, obviously he has some influence and power but the board has a lot of it as well. Some people are saying that it’s a way for them to put the responsibility on somebody else and then try to go from there,” said Wittenberg student William Boeck. “I am a music major, so because of these cuts, I will have to leave.”
“The word scapegoat kind of comes to mind, because while I’m sure he had a little bit of input as to what went down in the last decade, it’s a team effort,” said Reese Monnin. “I’m not saying that it wasn’t a bad choice for him to leave, but I feel like almost the board might’ve had him leave.”
In the Thursday email, the board pointed to Frandsen’s accomplishments, citing increased investment in student success and mental health, expanded experiential learning opportunities, the new Connections Curriculum, a record-setting comprehensive fundraising campaign, and completion of the Health, Wellness, and Athletics restoration and expansion project.
“What we do at Wittenberg matters, and right now, we all need to do the best we can for this university and the students we serve. The board is committed to ensuring that we thrive and is already discussing the next steps in this important leadership transition,” the board said.
The letter said the board has begun searching for its next president by forming a Presidential Search Committee that will include representatives from the faculty, alumni, student body, staff and board of directors. The committee will work in partnership with a search consultant, Storbeck Search, to find the 16th president.
“We will rely on our search partner to help us understand the current higher education landscape in terms of presidential searches,” the university spokesperson said, explaining they are only in the beginning phase of the search and expect to have more information to share on next steps next week.
The board said they fully realize how “critical” this decision is, and that they will work with Frandsen and the community to provide a smooth transition.
Higher education as an industry has been dealing with significant challenges overall, which have heavily affected small private colleges and universities. In the past few years, Notre Dame College in northern Ohio, Union Institute in Cincinnati and Urbana University just north of Springfield all closed. Bluffton University is working on a merger with the University of Findlay to stay alive.
The Wittenberg spokesperson cited a recent Forbes article about it being a tough time to be a university president. The article cites a decline in college-age students, concerns about college loan debt and student employability, and political pressures over free speech policies and partisanship.
Wittenberg is a 179-year-old private liberal arts university just north of downtown Springfield. The university said it had 1,288 undergraduate students and 45 graduate students as of fall 2023, along with 25 intercollegiate athletic teams in NCAA Division III.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The university has said it will cut about $7 million from its workforce. In a letter from September, university leaders said:
- The major programs in music, music education, German, Spanish, East Asian studies and the minor in Chinese will be eliminated after this school year.
- No further declarations of major will be allowed in international business and international studies until further notice.
- This school year will be the final season for the men’s and women’s tennis teams and women’s bowling team.
- The jobs of 24 full-time equivalent faculty and 45 full-time equivalent staff members will be eliminated. However, some current employees will be assigned to open positions and some of those open positions will not be filled, impacting about 40 people.
- They are considering new subject areas and academic programs, using more online and hybrid models of learning, more career pathways, and more access to academic and career expertise.
The university recorded a $17 million deficit in the 2022-23 school year, according to its tax records. They spent about $96 million that year, and about $26 million was spent on salaries and benefits for staff. The Board of Directors has said it plans to fully eliminate its forecasted financial operating losses by fiscal year 2027.
Frandsen, born in Athens, is the university’s 15th president. He spent more than 10 years in corporate finance before joining higher education at Oberlin College and Albion College in Michigan. Frandsen and his wife, Sharon, have two grown daughters, Janie and Kate.
Student Maddie Weidman said she thinks it’s a smart decision for Frandsen to leave because of the hostility against him.
“The students were really upset at the beginning of when the stuff was happening, and even though it kind of calmed down now, I know he’s still kind of the butt of a lot of people’s jokes and it’s unfortunate it got to this point and that this is how it has to end,” she said.
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