UW Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt announced Oct. 17 that he is resigning as the leader of the university at the end of the school year after a decade in charge.

Leavitt said that he always believed a 10-year term would be sufficient, and serving longer than that would deprive UWO of the fresh vision it deserves.

“This decision stems from my unwavering commitment to do what is best for UWO,” Leavitt said in an email to students. “The institution is on the right track, and it won’t lose a step through the leadership transition next summer.”

Leavitt, who will continue to be a faculty member at the university as a professor of chemistry after his resignation, became the 11th chancellor of UWO on Sept. 18, 2015, when he took over for Interim Chancellor Petra Roter after Richard Wells retired from the role.

Leavitt centered his tenure around making improvements to the campus and creating what he calls “UWO 2.0,” a model for the university that includes building demolition, a new academic model and position control for employees. Leavitt and Provost Edwin Martini announced April 19 that UWO would be restructuring its academic system by combining the four current colleges into three by January 2025 in order to save $1.75 million. Leavitt also announced plans to renovate Polk Library, which would cost $137.5 million, and there has been talk of tearing down the Gruenhagen Conference Center, Donner Hall, Webster Hall and the Student RecPlex.

Leavitt said in his resignation announcement that the school is on a positive path to incorporating UWO 2.0.

“The university has worked diligently and made sacrifices for a brighter and more dynamic future,” Leavitt said. “We are modernizing UWO’s academic structure and facilities with your experiences and success always top of mind. We have solid academic, enrollment and fiscal plans in place.”

Leavitt’s time as chancellor has been tainted by UWO’s $18 million projected budget deficit, and a decrease in enrollment, which caused the closure of the UWO-Fond du Lac and UWO-Fox Cities branch campuses.

The budget deficit caused the university to lay off 140 employees, not fill 35 open positions and force many employees and faculty to take furlough periods to cut expenses for the 2023-24 school year.

In an email to staff Aug. 3, 2023, Leavitt said UWO’s finances as “no longer sustainable for us to operate without dramatic reduction in expenses” and said that the university was forced to be more reliant on tuition payments due to declining state support. He also said that declining higher education participation in Wisconsin, an aging demographic in the state, declining state support and the major inflation of the post-pandemic world were root causes for the deficit.

“The increased reliance on tuition revenue, further exacerbated by a decade-long tuition freeze, … caused us to consume precious reserves,” Leavitt said. 

Misty McPhee, an associate professor of environmental studies and biology, told the Advance-Titan in 2023 that her department was greatly impacted by the layoffs.

“The assistant that runs our environmental studies program as well as women and gender studies, African American studies and Hmong studies … the whole interdisciplinary studies program … one person has been supporting all of those groups, and she just lost her job,” she said. “One of the things that is abhorrent to me is the lack of understanding of people’s knowledge and the expertise they bring to these jobs, and what we’re losing by letting them go without thinking of who we’re letting go.”

The layoffs sparked protests amongst students, university employees and community members, who staged a walkout of Sage Hall Oct. 3, 2023, and created a petition that featured eight expectations that the UWO community had for Leavitt. Just over six months later, 72% of the United Faculty and Staff of Oshkosh voted that they had no confidence in the university’s leader. The vote of no confidence was largely ceremonial, as only the Board of Regents has any power to remove a chancellor, and Universities of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman said that he stood by all of Leavitt’s decisions.

“Since his first day as chancellor, Chancellor Leavitt has embraced the challenges that come with leadership,” Rothman said in a statement regarding Leavitt’s resignation. “He is passionate about ensuring UW Oshkosh is positioned for a vibrant future, knowing its success is vital to the region and our state.”

The layoffs, academic restructuring and other budget costs have greatly reduced the university’s budget deficit, but Leavitt still reported that the deficit was at $7.6 million July 6. That same day, Leavitt said that the goal is to have the deficit completely eliminated by 2026. Enrollment at the university has also not improved in recent years, with UWO reporting a 4.7% drop in enrollment based on preliminary data released Sept. 16.

Leavitt said he will try to stabilize UWO’s enrollment and finances in his final eight months.

“I am also committed to helping us earn state funding to modernize university facilities and infrastructure, including a revitalized library, as prioritized by the Board of Regents,” Leavitt said. “They are geared toward achieving one outcome: a strong, sustainable UWO.”

UWO senior Nolan Swenson said that he was shocked to receive the email that Leavitt was resigning.

“I am hoping that we get someone who can get our budget wrangled,” Swenson said. “I believe a shake-up could be beneficial. Our budget is still a major issue and I believe that if we can get someone with a track record of turning budgets, while maintaining a majority of student amenities, we will be in good shape.”

Olivia Nasar, a UWO sophomore, said that she was a little shocked when she saw Leavitt was stepping down.

“But I’m also not surprised because it kind of seemed like people wanted him out of there,” Nasar said. “Hopefully the transition between chancellors is pretty seamless. Hopefully they work together in a sense or and that the members of Leavitt’s administration work with the new chancellor.”

Nasar said that she’s unsure what effect Leavitt’s resignation will have for UWO.

“I don’t know if it will be a positive or negative benefit just because I don’t think one singular person can make or break something like a whole college,” Nasar said. “My roommate told me that she felt bad for him because he’s said it was a job of a lifetime but he kind of got bullied out of there.”

Leavitt’s resignation goes into effect June 30, 2025. He is now the third chancellor in the UW System to announce their departure in 2024 after UW-Milwaukee’s Mark Mone announced in July he would be stepping down next year and UW-La Crosse’s Joe Gow was fired by the Board of Regents.

Leavitt said that he wanted to thank the faculty and staff for being loyal to the university during his 10-year tenure.

“I will cherish memories made and the people I have met in this role over the past ten years,” Leavitt said. “I take pride in my service. It has been the honor of my life, and I am proud to be a Titan.”