Effective Thursday, Webster's president, Elizabeth Stroble, takes the title of chancellor, and Provost Julian Schuster, senior vice president and COO, takes the president's post, according to the email, which was obtained by the Business Journal.
"These changes in title for Webster’s executive team reflect the growing and challenging demands of leading Webster University as a global system," Robert Reeg, chair of Webster U's board of trustees, said in the message.
The chancellor "will lead strategy development and engage external audiences to build Webster’s funding capacity and reputation," he said, and the president "will lead internal operations for optimal implementation of strategy and effective performance."
"As reflected in these new titles, this reorganization will support the alignment of the units that report to the Chancellor and the President for greater strategic and operational strength throughout the Webster global system," Reeg wrote.
No other administrative changes have been made, a spokesman told the Business Journal. Reeg's note didn't indicate if a new provost would be named to succeed Schuster.
Stroble became Webster University's 11th president in July 2009, after having served as senior vice president, provost and chief operating officer of the University of Akron in Ohio. She succeeded Richard Meyers, who retired in February 2008. Neil George, executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs, had served as interim president in 2008-2009 and was a contender for the president's post. After Stroble was named president, George became the first chancellor in Webster's history, holding that post until his retirement in 2012, when he became chancellor emeritus.
Schuster was hired in July 2008 in the then newly created post of Webster U's provost, senior vice president and COO, having been founding dean of the Hamline School of Business at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
"American universities in the 21st century must negotiate an expanding and demanding environment: changing student demographics; a global economy in flux; innovations in technology and so much more. These realities demand new and sophisticated ways to engage internal and external stakeholders. They require alignment of executive leadership titles..." Reeg said Thursday in his email.
Reeg cited that while most American independent universities are based on a single campus, Webster, in addition to its base in Webster Groves, has multiple sites in St. Louis; 60 locations across the United States and on military bases; and residential campuses in Europe, Asia and Africa, with campus sites added in Greece, Ghana and Uzbekistan over the past five years. "In terms of total enrollment, Webster University is among the ten largest master’s level private universities in the United States," he said in the email.
Diana Barr, Associate Editor
Sep 19, 2019
Source: St. Louis Business Journals
