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David Andrews resigned immediately as president of National University, the latest in a tumultuous string of developments for the adult-serving nonprofit institution in California.
In a letter sent to the university's employees, Michael R. Cunningham, chancellor of the National University System, listed Andrews's accomplishments during his five years as president and praised his "inspirational and innovative leadership." The letter said nothing about the reasons for Andrews's departure, and National officials declined to comment beyond the letter. Andrews also declined to comment. Cunningham's letter said that he would take on duties as president in addition to his role as chancellor.
The last several years have been eventful at National. In 2019, the university said it would change its name to acknowledge receipt of a $350 million pledge from the philanthropist T. Denny Sanford -- a decision it backed away from the following year when Sanford was linked to a child pornography scandal.
Last month the American Association of University Professors included National in a list of institutions it said had contributed to the erosion of shared governance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The faculty association said National had committed a “trinity of egregious violations of widely accepted governance standards,” abrogating faculty contracts, suspending its own faculty policies and unilaterally replacing an elected faculty senate with a university senate.
