Sidney A. Ribeau, president of Howard University for the past five years, retired suddenly on Tuesday.
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Sidney A. Ribeau, president of Howard University for the past five years, retired suddenly on Tuesday. The Washington Post reported that Mr. Ribeau had announced he was stepping down after a “tense three-day Board of Trustees meeting” last weekend.
Mr. Ribeau’s retirement comes on the heels of a troubled year for Howard, in which deans and trustees publicly blasted leaders of the historically black university for mismanagement, falling enrollment, and a hospital in financial straits.
Despite an endowment of $525-million, Howard has struggled financially, and the sequestration of federal funds may cause the university to receive substantially less money from the federal government in coming years. In September, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the university’s credit rating, from A3 to Baa1, citing revenue declines and “weak” fund raising.
Over the summer, Mr. Ribeau signed an extension to serve as president through June 2015. It is unclear how much the university will now pay to buy out the contract. He will leave the presidency at year’s end.
