ISU president Deborah Curtis announces retirement
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Indiana State University President Deborah Curtis announced Wednesday afternoon she will retire in 2024 at the end of the current academic year.
In a news release, Curtis called serving as president a “tremendous privilege and honor.”
“From my time as a Sycamore Ph.D. candidate, I have experienced firsthand our university’s focus on positively impacting students; this utmost priority continues today and I am confident it will continue in the future,” Curtis said in a news release. “The next leader of ISU will be joining at a time when so many opportunities are on the horizon that will catapult ISU to an even higher level. A strong and solid foundation is in place for the University’s future.”
In the release, the university credited Curtis for growing the endowment and pursuing philanthropic goals, including the $100 million by 2025 Be So BOLD campaign. Multiple campus projects were also launched during her tenure including the $34 million Dreiser Hall renovation and the $66 million Technology Annex building revamp. The latter is the largest state-funded capital project in the university’s history.
The university also applauds Curtis for leading the Sycamores through the pandemic and securing state and federal funding to improve childcare accessibility.
ISU Board of Trustees Chair Robert Casey said a search for Curtis’ successor will begin immediately.
About Curtis
Curtis is the university’s 12th president — the first woman and the second ISU alumnus to serve in the position.
She took on the role in January 2018 after being the provost and chief learning officer at the University of Central Missouri since 2012. She also previously held teaching and administrative roles at Illinois State University where she spent 26 years. She worked in public education for 40 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director, principal and school district superintendent.
“For the past six years, President Curtis has led ISU in a way that is emblematic of her deep loyalty and pride in her alma mater, working with her cabinet, faculty and staff to take ISU to new heights in delivering high-quality education to students in all of its disciplines,” said Robert Casey, Board of Trustees chair, in the release. “Her advocacy for ISU in the Statehouse, the broader Wabash Valley community and the alumni community has been energetic and passionate, creating renewed enthusiasm for the ISU brand among all of these key stakeholders.”
The Indianapolis Business Journal honored Curtis as an Indiana Women of Influence last year and was included in the 2023 Indiana 250 list of the state’s most influential business leaders.
She graduated from Indiana State with her doctorate in curriculum and instruction with specializations in secondary education and supervision of instruction. She earned a master’s degree in music education from Illinois State and a bachelor’s degree in music education from MacMurray College.
Financial trouble at ISU
Curtis is retiring as the university remedies tough financial complications in part due to declining student enrollment.
This year, ISU saw enrollment decrease 4.1% despite a larger freshman class for a second year, according to Tribune-Star reporting. The student population shrank from 8,658 to 8,305.
The university made about $12 million in budget cuts last year, and Curtis previously said the budget was based on an enrollment estimate of about 100 student less than actually enrolled.
The budget cuts spurred a reorganization cutting about 10 faculty and staff positions, which at one time was closer to 50. The university received notice of about 42 retirements by the end of the year, which reduced layoffs.
The Tribune-Star also reported in June that the university’s student tuition revenue was expected to take a $9.3 million hit. It reported the year prior sat around $75.7 million while this school would be about $66.3 million.
In turn, the revenue drop led to the ISU Board of Trustees to approve a 2.75% tuition increase each year for two years. Tuition saw an increase of $130 a semester, totaling $9,992 a year to attend ISU. The following year, students will pay $10,258 a year to be a Sycamore.
The board said the increases were necessary to foot the costs of providing quality education and operational expenses.