MISSOULA, Mont. —University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is stepping down effective Dec. 31, as the university continues to face declining enrollments and budget cuts.
Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian announced Thursday that he and Engstrom reached the decision after “careful discussion and consideration.”
“I asked President Engstrom to consider this transition at this time based on my belief that a change in leadership direction is the right step for UM going forward,” Christian said in a statement. “I greatly appreciate the graciousness and care with which President Engstrom engaged in our discussion.”
A national search for a replacement will begin immediately, Christian said. He plans to hold listening sessions with the university community to learn the kinds of qualities people would like to see in the next university president.
Sheila Stearns, who was Montana’s Commissioner of Higher Education from 2003 to 2012, will serve as interim president.
During Engstrom’s tenure, UM faced reports of uninvestigated sexual assaults that led to a Department of Justice Investigation for the university as well as city police and county prosecutors. A former quarterback was charged with rape, expelled from school, reinstated, suspended from the team and later acquitted at trial. He received a $245,000 settlement after filing a claim stating the university mishandled the rape investigation.
Engstrom was criticized by some for firing the football coach and athletic director in March 2012 amid the rape investigation. The university has seen a 22 percent decline in enrollment since 2010, while Montana State University’s enrollment of full- and part-time students increased by 21 percent over the same period.
