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Harrisburg University of Science and Technology president Eric Darr announced his resignation Friday afternoon, according to a statement from the university that offered no details about the decision.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank Dr. Darr for his work on behalf of our students,” read a statement from board chair Mark Singel posted on the website.
Darr has been involved with the institution since it was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 2001, serving first as vice president of finance and administration and then provost before becoming president in 2013.
The board chair noted his role in helping the university grow.
“HU opened its doors in 2005 to just 113 students,” Singel’s statement read. “Today, it employs over 600 employees, serving about 6,500 undergraduate and graduate students.”
The vast majority of Harrisburg’s graduate students are remote, according to Penn Live, and the university has faced steep budget deficits in each of the past two fiscal years: $8.4 million for 2022–23, and $6.4 million in 2023–24.
Earlier this year, Harrisburg closed its international campuses in Panama and Dubai.
David Schankweiler, who served for a decade as the university’s first board chair, has been named interim president while officials launch a national search for their next leader.
“We certainly have some challenges before us, but we’re already hard at work addressing them,” Schankweiler said in a statement. “Our next president is going to continue the tremendous progress we’ve made at HU since those initial exploratory meetings over a quarter century ago.”
