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Angry with how Ohio Dominican University has handled declining enrollment and mounting debt, a group of students and alumni are demanding that the president, Peter Cimbolic, be replaced. The university is $40 million in debt, the group wrote in a letter to the Board of Trustees. Between 2007 and 2013, enrollment declined by 40 percent. When Forbes graded private colleges’ financial health, Ohio Dominican was one of five to receive an F.
“He has had six years to fix things, but the situation gets worse on campus every day,” Eric Rauschenbach, a member of the Alumni Council, said in an email.
In a message to the board, Cimbolic said that those problems came before his time. His presidency began in 2010 -- and between 2010 and 2013, enrollment declined only 14 percent. The $40 million in debt, he wrote, was there when he arrived. “They haven’t mentioned our graduate enrollment, which is on the rise,” said university spokesman Tom Brockman. “It’s not like we are 100 percent dependent on undergraduate enrollment.” Across Ohio, he added, many similar universities are seeing undergraduate enrollment declines.
In an email to students and staff, Cimbolic said that the group’s claims were “inaccurate or intentionally misleading.” The Board of Trustees rejected the group’s request to remove Cimbolic, saying that they stand behind the president.
