SNC President: Resignation ‘the right thing to do’

On heels of record enrollment, college aims for financial success
By Kevin MacMillan
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza - full article here

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Richard Rubsamen will resign as president of Sierra Nevada College in an effort to better situate the four-year private liberal arts school for future financial success after an era that has seen on-campus enrollment more than double.

The school announced the news late on Friday, Oct. 7 , after Atam Lalchandani, SNC board of trustees member and chair of the school’s finance committee, announced the news to faculty and staff.

“I was tasked by the board with planning for financial sustainability in order to (ensure) the long term health of the college,” Rubsamen said in a statement. “It was clear to me where reductions had to occur. While the idea of leaving the college is very difficult, it is the right thing to do. I need to lead by example and practice what we teach.”

Lynn Gillette, provost at SNC, will become president effective Nov. 1.

Along with Rubsamen’s resignation, staff and administrative employees will take a 5 percent to 10 percent pay cut, confirmed Julene Hunter, communications director.

No pay cuts will be made to faculty, she said.

“Looking at the current economy, colleges across the nation … are making cuts that are affecting the students,” Hunter said in a phone interview Friday night. “We’re doing the exact opposite. There will be no (pay) cuts to the faculty … Everything we could do to protect the students was done.”

When asked if the community and students should be worried about the financial health of the college based on Friday’s announcement, Hunter said “no.”

In an interview this week, Gillette and Rubsamen declined to disclose the exact dollar amount the pay cuts will save the school, as well as Rubsamen’s salary.

They stressed, however, the moves shouldn’t be viewed negatively.

“Although it doesn’t look like it, this is a very positive economic story of financial health of the college,” Gillette said.

Back in 2005, the school — which turned 40 years old in 2009 — had fallen on hard times. According to previous Bonanza reports, poor management led to serious financial problems, and the school’s enrollment dropped as a heavy pall hung over the campus. But thanks to donors and strategic partnerships, the college was able to rebound.

Since the spring of 2007, enrollment has increased from about 260 to its current record number of 547, Rubsamen said, representing a 110 percent increase.

Revenues have “grown dramatically” at the college since, he said. However, costs have increased with rising enrollment, meaning there has been “no reaping of that revenue.”

The pay cuts come six months after the college eliminated five full-time positions — one from administrative development, one receptionist, two from the accounting department and one from student housing. According to an April 13 Bonanza story, Rubsamen said the move was critical to “positioning (the college) to become a great educational resource for the state of Nevada.”

Those moves, coupled with last week’s announcement, should serve as some of the final pieces to get Sierra Nevada College to financial sustainability, Rubsamen said this week.

“With the growth in expenses over the past five years, looking at administrative salaries, (the decision to resign) was a no-brainer,” Rubsamen said.

Rubsamen — who took over as president on June 15, 2010, after Robert Maxson announced his retirement — will continue at SNC for the next few months, working with the board to ensure a smooth transition.

Gillette was appointed provost in May 2008, after serving as chair of the business department since August 2007.

“I believe deeply in this college,” Gillette said this week. “Never have I seen a school do such a great job in transforming students’ lives for the better.”