Interim President of St., Mary’s College Dr. Ian Newbould says the institution is poised for a turnaround. Newbould told the St. Mary’s County Commissioners on Tuesday that he hopes to have the college’s admissions and budget problems corrected by the time he leaves his position at the end of the academic year.
Newbould has 40 years of experience in colleges in Canada, his native country, as well as England and the United States. He is retired but takes on short-term positions through a temporary agency. “I clearly have failed at retirement,” he joked. His most recent position was interim provost at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA.
Newbould took over from Dr. Joseph Urgo, whose contract was not renewed at his request amid a controversy about the decline in numbers of incoming freshmen. But Newbould says that problem was overblown by the national media (New York Times and Washington Post) because it was based on projections as opposed to actual numbers. He said the number of incoming freshmen declined by only 17 this year. He said, “At this moment the signs for next year are very positive and we hope to have that turned around.”
Commissioner Cynthia Jones (R: 1st) pointed out during the presentation that college admissions and budgets are a national problem, not just confined to St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Dr. Newbould emphasized the college’s positives, including the third highest graduation rate for public liberal arts colleges and ranking in the top five percent by U.S. World and News Report. He said students at St Mary’s tend to graduate in four years, instead of longer at other colleges and this have a lower debt.
Newbould also touted the college’s sailing team. He announced that the college would be the host to the National Collegiate Sailing Championship next spring. He noted that sailing is considered to be a sport for wealthy colleges and St. Mary’s didn’t fit that description. He said the college was able to succeed at the sport through outside support for the program.
The interim president also said a large number of the college’s