Amanda Crouse
News Editor
In a leaked email originally sent to College faculty, Mark Goodman, chair of the board of trustees, announced the College has begun working with Huron Consulting Group, a third-party company that provides administrative and financial advising services to corporations and educational institutions.
Goodman wrote that changes in enrollment and finances “require institutions like Wooster to take a fresh and objective look at how we position ourselves for the future.”
The three areas on which Huron will focus during its work with the College are Enrollment Growth and Student Success; Academic and Student Programs and Curriculum; and Strategic Partnerships and Alliances.
The first priority, Enrollment Growth and Student Success, will search for opportunities to increase rates of recruitment, retention and admissions. Academic and Student Programs and Curriculum will assess “existing academic strengths, evolving student interests, emerging disciplines, and opportunities for innovation,” with a general interest in maintaining the liberal arts tradition. Finally, Strategic Partnerships and Alliances will search for “academic collaborations, institutional partnerships, joint programming, shared services, and other strategic alliances …”
Goodman stated that Huron will not solely be looking for opportunities to reduce spending, and added that the company’s analysis will be influenced by participation from faculty and staff. According to Goodman’s email, Huron was scheduled to deliver a presentation on its methods and projected timeline during the Oct. 23 board of trustees meeting.
Collaboration with Huron will be spearheaded by the board of trustees’ Transformation and Restructuring Committee and a working committee comprising board members, faculty and staff leaders, with Goodman as committee chair.
“The engagement is expected to continue through February 2027, with substantive findings, strategic recommendations, and a proposed roadmap presented in advance of our Winter Board meeting,” Goodman wrote.
The Voice reached out via email to President Anne McCall to inquire about the nature of the College’s partnership with Huron Consulting Group.
“The College of Wooster is a nonprofit institution serving the public through higher education since our founding in 1866, not a corporation whose purpose is to generate profits for shareholders,” McCall wrote in her response. “That said, we have a responsibility to remain financially viable in order to serve future generations of students. The Board of Trustees has fiduciary responsibility for our College, meaning that its duty is to put the interests of the College above their own, to ensure that the College operates lawfully, to guide it in major strategic directions, and ensure its sustainability.”
Regarding student responses to the partnership, McCall wrote: “I appreciate the engagement of students such as the Scot Council members who met with trustees last week, and I would encourage all students to engage within the process our Board sets out.”
The board of trustees did not respond to a request for comment.
