Excerpt from the Dayton Business Journal
When Susan Edwards becomes president of Wright State University on Jan. 1, she plans to focus on two things: enrollment and partnerships.
“Enrollment isn’t just bringing students in the door — it’s ensuring their success,” she said. “So, that would be number one priority. Number two priority is really firming up relationships … ensuring that we’re hearing from our partners and meeting the needs of folks.”
It’s the first step toward cementing a path of long-term viability for Wright State University, which is actively working to right the ship after several years of financial difficulty. In 2017, Wright State cut nearly $31 million from its 2018 budget to correct roughly $38 million in overspending, causing 57 layoffs and broad organizational changes for the school.
Amid the turbulence, the university announced in October that Cheryl Schrader, the university’s seventh president, will exit her post Dec. 31 — just two and a half years into a five-year contract. Wright State's board of trustees voted unanimously Oct. 26 for Edwards to be her successor.
Moving forward, Edwards said the university must regain trust of the local community by implementing a business model that helps to ensure financial stability.
“One of the things that we’ll have to do is develop a business model moving forward — we have to develop a plan, a roadmap, to ensure that we are financially stable,” she said. “We’ve lost trust in Raider country. We need to re-establish that trust.”
Budget-cutting measures helped Wright State stabilize and rebuild its reserve fund, though the university’s year-over-year revenue is still declining. Edwards said the university must continue to “be mindful” of the budget without sacrificing the academic mission of the institution.
“When we talk about finances, students are at the heart of everything we do,” she said. “The focus remains on the students and the academic success of the students, because if we have those students be successful and we're able to tell their stories, we will see revenues increase.”
