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MARIETTA – Marietta College officials announced Tuesday that college president Joseph Bruno will leave the institution at the close of this academic year in May.
“I wish him the best in his future endeavors,” said Mary Barnas, professor of psychology and a member of the faculty council.
Bruno sent an email to the college’s community, including alumni, on Tuesday announcing his resignation.
“The time is right for me to pursue new professional challenges, and so I have notified the Board of Trustees that I will be leaving the college at the end of this academic year,” he wrote. “While this has been a difficult decision, I believe the college is well positioned for a leadership transition.”
Bruno did not return calls for comment Tuesday.
His decision comes just before a scheduled discussion by faculty council concerning a possible vote of no confidence in his presidency. The vote has been planned for some time and was scheduled for next Monday, Barnas confirmed, saying there were also many other items on the agenda.
The discussion of the vote was tabled at the council meeting held in September pending the accreditation process the college was to complete throughout October.
During Bruno’s tenure at the college, numerous financial concerns plagued the institution. Two major rounds of cuts to both faculty and staff left students, alumni and employees uncertain about the future.
In 2014 the first round of reductions saw the loss of 20 full-time employees. Another 19 cuts were announced in August this year. College officials said budgetary constraints necessitated the siphoning, but faculty and student response was not positive in either instance.
Looking forward as the college seeks to install both an interim president and begin the search for Bruno’s successor, George Fenton, chair of the college’s board of trustees, thanked the president for his past three years of work in a press release.
“The board is grateful for his service,” said Fenton. “We look forward to working with him and the faculty and staff for the remainder of the academic year to provide our students with a high-quality education and unique growth opportunities.”
During his remaining six months in office Bruno told alumni and the current college community that he will focus his efforts on a smooth transition for the interim president.
Barnas said the process to then fill the position full-time would take upwards of a year to complete.
“It’s a lengthy process and takes a year usually to meet with faculty and the board and select someone,” she said. “I think we’d like to see someone who’s familiar with the goals of a liberal arts education and possesses the leadership and fundraising skills needed for the college to succeed.”
Fenton said in the release that Bruno’s work in honing the management processes of the college will be a benefit to the institution moving forward.
“President Bruno invested significantly in enrollment management infrastructure that will allow the college to increase revenue through improved recruitment and enrollment processes,” he said.
Though no concrete timeline could be provided by Tom Perry, executive director of Strategic Communications and Marketing for MC, concerning the identification of an interim president or the process for hiring Bruno’s successor, Perry did say in the release the plans would be forthcoming by the board.
“In the coming weeks, the Board of Trustees will announce a plan for identifying an interim president,” the release said. It also mentioned “the process, timeline and opportunities for campus community involvement in a national search for a permanent successor to Bruno.”
Bruno, a native of Chicago, became MC’s 18th president in 2012 after 28 years in faculty and administrative roles at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. He earned a bachelor of arts in chemistry from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He continued his education at Northwestern University, where he earned the PhD in chemistry in 1983, and concurrently held a graduate appointment at Argonne National Laboratory in 1982. He also served as a postdoctoral researcher at Indiana University prior to joining the faculty at Wesleyan University.