Ursinus College president Robyn E. Hannigan, who was in her fourth year at the small liberal arts school in Collegeville, was abruptly removed from the job Thursday and her Ursinus webpage was removed.
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I’ll have to look deeper - are they at risk of closure ?
Definite attendance issues.
I thought Ursinus was one of the more strong, small colleges. Of course they are all feeling a lot of pressure, but this article made them look pretty good
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No. I don’t believe they are under serious financial stress.
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The Inquirer does a good job of covering the Philly region universities. Interested to see if they have a follow up article. There’s obviously a story here.
I know Forbes did financial grades in 2024. I can’t open the article to know what a C- is. I know RPI and Drexel both were too. There’s a thread.
Hate to see colleges struggle but with enrollments declining and Ursinus did a lot, it’s the future unfortunately.
I can’t find a recent Moody’s rating.
S&P 2024:
| Ursinus College | PA | BBB | Stable |
|---|
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Ursinus received a grade of C- on the Forbes rating. That alone is not an indicator of imminent financial disaster as it was a long list of schools being graded at C and C- with schools like Fordham, Drexel, and RPI also getting grades of C-. Even lower with a grade of D were University of Hartford, Pace, and Drew along with many others.
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RPI is not a C or C-…. check the info? Also, new prez has turned things around, lifting it 6pts it’s in us news & world reports.
Yeah, I don’t know about the finances - just their enrollment is down and down and down - and I imagine, perhaps that’s why the President was let go. Will find out in due time.
Uha and Drew have long had issues but I think Drew had some properties they were able to sell off to shore up the finances.
With less students attending college in the future, some are going to break. Other schools are coming up with “desired” programs and cutting those not desired - the liberal arts.
The landscape will look different in 5, 10 years, etc.
I checked. It’s a C-. In fact, it’s the 2nd lowest in the C- list. One step away from a D. Sorry to break the bad news to you. 
Ursinus enrollment trends:
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I don’t think any college president would suddenly be removed due to enrollment trends. Sudden departure is usually due to something egregious.
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She (not they) noted it’s not for cause.
The article (which keeps locking) - talks about a 10% enrollment decline but then locks up.
You are looking at 2024, 2025 for RPI is different.
Yes, I was looking at 2024. Hadn’t caught up with 2025 yet. So, I wasn’t posting the most current information. My apologies. You guys were right and I . . . was wrong.
I see that RPI has taken a big jump up to B-. Congratulations! I’m happy for you guys. I like RPI and what it does. I know there’s a relatively new president. Did tha have anything to do with it.
I also see that Ursinus has experienced significant improvement with its grade jumping to a C+. Good school. Nice to see. That kind of improvement should rule out finances as the cause for the president’s dismissal.
Thee other possibility is that the Board told her to do something that she refused to do. If enough Board members felt strongly enough about whatever they were asking of her, then they decide that a paring of the ways is best for all concerned.
I would take her at her word that it was not for “cause” and therefore not something egregious. It might just boil down to an issue that she and the board didn’t see eye to eye on. Not on the same page. Which is a problem. Happened to a friend of mine.
