Change came with unusual speed at the University of Wyoming under Robert J. Sternberg, the institution’s leader since July. And then, abruptly, change came to the president’s office, too.
After just over four months on the job, Mr. Sternberg announced on Thursday that he would step down.
During Mr. Sternberg’s short tenure at Wyoming, a provost, three associate provosts, and four deans resigned. The departures unsettled the campus, creating what some professors described as a climate of fear.
“I care a great deal about this university,” Mr. Sternberg said in a statement that was read at a news conference Thursday evening after a daylong meeting of the Board of Trustees. “And I have come to realize that as wonderful as the University of Wyoming is, it may not be the best fit for me as president.”
His resignation is effective as of December 31, but Mr. Sternberg will be on administrative leave beginning immediately. Under the terms of his departure, Mr. Sternberg will be paid $325,000 for the following year, the university said.
Richard McGinity, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, will perform the duties of president.
David J. Bostrom, president of the board, said that the trustees had accepted Mr. Sternberg’s resignation “with understanding,” adding that they “appreciate his sensitivity to the overall needs of the university and its future.”
Mr. Bostrom also specified that the board “fully accepts and endorses the personnel changes and changes in direction at the university that have taken place in the last several months that emphasize and reinforce the university’s land-grant mission with service to the people of Wyoming, its state government, and the economy.”
The international search that resulted in the hiring of Mr. Sternberg was assisted by Greenwood/Asher & Associates. The university paid $89,000, a university spokesman said.
Mr. Sternberg, who was previously provost and senior vice president at Oklahoma State University and is a regular contributor to The Chronicle, said in an interview last week that the personnel changes since he took office were natural at a university that had often promoted people from within. An external perspective, he said, could help the university tackle challenges like declines in enrollment and stagnant faculty pay. The university has not been able to give raises to the faculty in four years.
Changes and Damages
But faculty members questioned the resignations, voicing concerns about both the sweep of the personnel changes and how they had been notified of the moves.
Among those who left are Myron B. Allen, the provost, whom Mr. Sternberg asked to step down this past summer, and Kay Persichitte, who was dean of the College of Education. Mr. Sternberg said he had been responsible for her resignation, too.
Stephen D. Easton, dean of the College of Law, resigned two weeks ago, saying the president had not consulted the law school about creating a task force to review the school’s programs. The task force was born out of concerns that the law school needs to focus more on energy and natural resources.
Mr. Easton was cleaning out his office late Thursday afternoon as the board deliberated about Mr. Sternberg’s presidency.
“I am a firm believer that the University of Wyoming College of Law must be very strong in energy and natural resources,” Mr. Easton said in a telephone interview. “That is a critical part of our state, our economy, our culture.
“I am the grandson of a man who immigrated to this country to mine coal,” Mr. Easton said. “I have worked on cases in the energy industry. I want us to produce very good lawyers for the energy industry. But I want us to do more than that. We cannot just be an energy and natural-resources law school.”
Mr. Easton said he did not object to the concept of a task force to evaluate the school’s programs, but thought that couching any review in such terms sent a signal that the president believed there were “significant problems” at the school. A review by the college’s existing advisory board, which includes Wyoming lawyers and judges, would have sent a less-critical message and should have been discussed as a possibility, he said.
Asked about Mr. Sternberg’s tenure as president, Mr. Easton said, “In my personal opinion, it has been damaging. But I also believe we’ll get past it.”
The other university officials to announce their departures since Mr. Sternberg’s arrival include two other deans—David S. Cozzens, an associate vice president and dean of students, and Brent A. Hathaway, who led the College of Business. Both accepted positions outside the university.
Three associate provosts—Carol D. Frost, Andrew Hansen, and Nicole S. Ballenger—resigned over the summer.
‘A Disruptive Innovator’
In an interview last week, Mr. Sternberg said that he had not arrived on the campus expecting to change its personnel. Though he received advice from trustees and board members of the UW Foundation about the university’s leadership, he said he had made his own decisions.
The president also said in the interview that he was not surprised by the criticism of the pace of change at the university. “When someone comes in as a disruptive innovator, metaphorically, it’s like an antibody attack,” he said. “They attack objects not because they’re harmful but because they’re foreign. The result is predictable.”
In the future, the university’s new leaders face significant challenges to improve the campus climate, some professors said.
Donal O’Toole, a professor in the department of veterinary sciences and a member of the Faculty Senate, said Mr. McGinity—the interim provost, who has been in his administrative job only since September—is taking on the president’s duties at “a really awkward time.”
“The guy is absolutely under the gun to deal with morale issues,” Mr. O’Toole said.
Ms. Persichitte, the former education dean, said she thought Mr. Sternberg had not fit into the institution’s culture well. She said she hoped Mr. McGinity would move forward carefully, listening to the faculty and staff.
“If he does that as we search for a new president,” she said, “we have every opportunity to rebuild the leadership gap that now exists.”
Brett D. Kahler, a senior who is president of the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming and a nonvoting member of the Board of Trustees, said he was surprised when he heard at Thursday’s board meeting that Mr. Sternberg was stepping down.
“It’s always a shock when change happens,” Mr. Kahler said. “I was shocked but realized that the university’s poised at a pivotal time to move forward in a positive direction.”
Jack Stripling contributed to this article.
