California Lutheran University President Lori Varlotta is resigning at the end of May, just over four months after a lopsided faculty vote of no confidence in her leadership.
Ann Boynton, the chairwoman of the Thousand Oaks university's Board of Regents, announced the decision in an email Tuesday morning, just over a week after the 3,400-student university celebrated commencement.
Varlotta approached the board earlier this year to request a release from her contract and will step down May 31, Boynton said in the email.
Boynton praised Varlotta's work over her tenure, saying the president "worked with determination and focus" to lead Cal Lutheran through much of the pandemic and "undertook difficult, yet necessary changes to stabilize the university's financial position."
"(Varlotta's) accomplishments have helped position Cal Lutheran for the future," Boynton wrote.
Varlotta declined an interview request through a spokesperson, but in a news release said she is proud of what she accomplished alongside the Cal Lutheran community. “The university is lucky to have passionate students, faculty, staff and supporters who share the goal of a bright future for Cal Lutheran and I look forward to watching the university continue to flourish,” she wrote.
To replace Varlotta, the board appointed the Rev. John Nunes, most recently the pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Santa Monica, to serve a two-year term as interim president. Nunes is a senior fellow at the religious liberty nonprofit Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy and former president of Concordia College in New York.
Varlotta's departure fulfills the primary demand of a Jan. 16 faculty assembly resolution — passed 122-3 — that accused the third-year president of mismanaging university finances and said Varlotta "eroded and divided" the university's "historically close" community.
Three top faculty leaders — Faculty Senate Chair Sharon Docter, Faculty Affairs Committee Chair Kristine Butcher and Faculty Assembly Chair Michael Hart, who also serves as the faculty's representative to the Board of Regents — issued a statement saying faculty are optimistic about the university's future.
"The faculty at Cal Lutheran look forward to working with interim president, Dr. John Nunes, and the Board of Regents to ensure that our institution will continue to thrive now and into the future," the statement said. "Faculty are committed to providing the best educational experience possible for our students."
The first woman to serve as Cal Lutheran's president, Varlotta took over from 12-year President Chris Kimball in September 2020. In her three years at the helm the university faced steep post-pandemic enrollment drops, a tightening budget and a highly publicized court battle with former U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly.
She is expected to return to the university in fall 2025 as a distinguished professor of higher education leadership. In the meantime, she will take research time before coming back to CLU. Mark Berry, a university spokesperson, declined to say whether Varlotta would retain her salary.
"Cal Lutheran doesn't discuss the details of any individual's employment," he wrote in a text. "This is our policy."
Regents threw their public support behind the president in the immediate aftermath of the no-confidence vote while Varlotta tied the faculty's discontent to the university's larger troubles.
The president told reporters after her State of the University address in February that regents hired her to make changes and "disrupt the status quo" by reorganizing academic programs and making potential cuts.
"I understand that change is uncomfortable; change is hard," she said.
This story may be updated.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @ isaiahmurtaugh and @ vcsschools . You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America .
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Embattled California Lutheran University President Lori Varlotta out
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