After an abrupt leadership change earlier this month, Gannon University reveals that it is facing difficult financial decisions as the Erie-based Catholic university works to address a significant drop in enrollment and revenue.
Dr. Walter Iwanenko left the university in early October, and Dr. Keith Taylor has returned as president to guide Gannon through the transition. Taylor says reorganization planning is already underway, with a reduction in force expected in the coming months.
Gannon’s enrollment has dropped about 20% in just a couple of years, driven in large part by a decline in international students affected by U.S. immigration policies.
Dr. Taylor, with 40 years experience in higher education, 20 of those years at Gannon University, says he agreed to return when Bishop Lawrence Persico called on him to help lead the university through this challenging period.
“It’s hard to say no when you think you can have an impact, you think that you can bring value, and you know the university needs someone to help through this transition, and so why not me?” Taylor said.
Gannon has dropped as many as 600 international students from an area of enrollment Dr. Taylor had previously grown to nearly 1,000.
While that represents a significant challenge, he believes the university can adapt as it has in the past.
“Because of some of the biases that were holding students out, we educated students from different parts of the world,” Taylor said. “So we need to make those same kind of adjustments. And this will not be forever.”
The decline in international enrollment comes as colleges and universities nationwide face financial pressures and uncertainty about the future of higher education.
Gannon is also dealing with a smaller incoming freshman class. Just 463 students enrolled as freshmen this fall, well below the more than 700 plus students Taylor says the university achieved under his previous enrollment strategies.
He hopes to revisit some of those approaches, with a focus on academic programs that lead directly to career opportunities.
“We need to look at health professions. We need to look at engineering. We need to look at programs where students can come in, get a great education, go out and get a career and start their career right out of the gate,” Taylor said.
In the short term, Taylor says Gannon must bring its revenue and expenses into alignment. That will mean reorganizing around programs that attract students and ensuring other academic offerings are better aligned with current workforce needs.
The process will involve difficult decisions, including cuts that will affect members of the Gannon community.
“You can’t see dramatic changes in programs and enrollments and not make adjustments and still be able to sustain yourself going forward,” Taylor said. “So I have no concerns about sustainability. It’s that we do need to make some really hard decisions in the coming next couple of months here.”
The university will hold one of its regular community wide meetings this coming Friday. Dr. Taylor expects to share more on the plans at that time. A survey will also go out to the university community (including its Ursuline and Ruskin campuses) seeking input and ideas regarding the reorganization.
Ultimately campus leadership will make the difficult decisions on which positions or programs will be eliminated. Dr. Taylor says those impacted by the cuts will be notified soon, with some cuts taking effect by the end of the calendar year, others by the end of the academic year. Plans will ensure that currently enrolled students can complete their studies.
Taylor’s goal is to return Gannon to full strength, but the coming months will bring significant changes as the university works to address its enrollment challenges and plan for the future.
Hear more from Dr. Keith Taylor this weekend on The Insider, hosted by Lisa Adams.