Nearly five years later and 15 months into Steinmayer’s “Better Lesley” plan, low-enrollment programs have been cut, a $100 million campus renovation plan to consolidate and sell unused buildings is underway, and the university is on a plan to reach financial equilibrium by the 2026 fiscal year. But in the process, the university has laid off nearly 20 percent of core faculty members, cut most of its social science programs, and seen enrollment drop by an additional 45 percent since 2019 — all while remaining more than $100 million in debt. Now, faculty and students have revolted, saying in interviews and in three faculty votes of no confidence that Steinmayer is not the right person to lead the university through a time of peril.
