Claremont Insider: CGU's Klitgaard Resigns

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

CGU's Klitgaard Resigns

Sorry we didn't get around to posting this sooner. There have been rumors of this floating around for a week or two, but we had no confirmation until now....

CGU President Robert Klitgaard resigned last Friday. The reasons are not clear at this point. Here's what the Los Angeles Times reported:
An expert in government reform and international studies, Klitgaard decided to resign over differences with the university's trustees involving strategic plans for the future, according to a school spokesperson. Klitgaard and trustee officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

The Daily Bulletin's Wes Woods II reports in today's paper that CGU has named provost and vice-chair for academic affairs Yi Feng as interim president. CGU will have to form a search committee to find a new president, and Woods' piece indicated the process could take a year.

Woods' article said:
Robert Klitgaard last week decided to step down as president. He had served as president since summer 2005.

Klitgaard's opinion on CGU's strategic planning differed from the Board of Trustees, [CGU spokesperson Esther] Wiley said.

She did not provides specifics on the disagreements.

. . . . .

Despite the poor economy, Wiley said the college is holding up financially, because its finances are more based off of enrollment than endowments.

The percentage of CGU's budget that is tuition driven is 76 percent, Wiley said.

Enrollment at CGU has increased by more than 12 percent in the past two years and research grants have significantly increased.

The search for a new college president can certainly take a long time. Fritz Weis over at Scripps College has been interim president since July 1, 2007, and that search is continuing. Weis, you may recall, was appointed as a temporary replacement for former president Nancy Bekavac, who left Scripps after a 17-year tenure.