By Emmie Meeks
Opinion Editor
On Aug. 16, The Baltimore Sun published an article entitled, “Washington College faces financial woes, presidential turnover at critical time,” describing the recent, and locally well-known, financial hardship Washington College has seen over the past decade. However, The Sun shone a narrow spotlight on the situation and neglected to tell the whole story.
News of trouble in Chestertown has circled for nearly the past decade as WC has seen a drop in enrollment, five different presidents, and a growing operating deficit.
When former President Dr. Mike Sosulski, who announced he was stepping down in June, came into the position in the summer of 2021, the College was facing an $11 million deficit.
Deemed the “People First President” by Washington College Magazine in the first issue following its re-release, Sosulski set out with a clear mission: to heal and thrive.
After nearly a decade of mismanagement, Sosulski knew what was at the heart of his task, making faculty and staff his top priority, because without them, the institution cannot adequately support its students.
Within the first two years of his presidency, Sosulski managed to cut the deficit in half and implement a five-year strategic framework to fully resolve WC’s financial troubles.
While Sosulski, the President’s Office, and the finance department may not be perfect, The Baltimore Sun overlooked the drive that Sosulski and all involved staff and faculty demonstrated in repairing the foundation of the college.
Faced with an impossible task, Sosulski took the bull by the horns and tackled the myriad of issues as best he could, with the help of the Board of Visitors and Governors and other senior staff.
Vice President of Finance and Administration Bo Connell has been vocal about the situation and worked cooperatively with the Elm to keep the campus and Chestertown community well-informed. According to prior Elm coverage, Connell said last March that the College had canceled an additional audit scheduled for this winter due to the cost and minimally revealing results from the initial findings.
However, the decision that caused the biggest uproar, and presumably fueled the largest concerns amongst vigilant community members, was the announcement of faculty and staff cuts.
Both in Connell’s spring report and numerous communications from Sosulski, the details of who or what positions would be cut were fuzzy. Faculty were concerned about potential layoffs for professors after falling short of unionizing in 2024, and ultimately withdrawing their petition in Jan. 2025, waves of potential unprotected change were felt across campus.
The final decision came in combination of voluntary incentivized separations and position eliminations. According to prior Elm coverage, approximately 12 employees partook in either voluntary separation or early retirement packages before June 30. Nearly twelve other staff positions were involuntarily cut. There were several other positions cut and staff laid off, but Connell and Sosulski presented a united front when describing the incentive for staff to leave on their own accord.
Just how voluntary the separations were or how much encouragement to take the deal was given by senior staff remains unclear. However, the College’s official statement is that they operated with the best intentions to ensure the most positive outcome for all parties involved.
The Sun’s biggest swing was aimed directly at the timing of Sosulski’s departure, which, admittedly, was somewhat suspicious.
Shortly after the end of the school year and the budget cut announcements, Sosulski released a statement that he would be stepping down as president in order to assume the same role at Lake Forest College in Illinois, his home state.
Sosulski’s email cited personal and family ties as the reasoning for his change, but some chose to paint a far grimmer picture.
“WC” Voices, a Facebook page dedicated to concerned WC community members, including parents, alumni, staff, and students, has been rampantly active on the platform, sharing their distaste for the management of the College. The Sun latched onto this group and ran with it.
“Everyone’s been asleep at the wheel…They haven’t seen every warning sign,” prominent poster Skip Middleton ’87 said to The Sun.
Sosulski’s success says otherwise.
While the intentions of “WC Voices” may be pure, it is clear there is little representation from anyone actually in the know about specific College operations. The page is filled with inflammatory and emotionally charged statements about the need for change. The desire for change is widely agreed upon. However, until the group can provide real solutions to these very real problems, it is nothing more than a vacuum chamber.
With applications and enrollment up substantially this year, WC is on the path to restoring its foundation as it looks ahead to the 250th anniversary in 2032, alongside the dedicated and hard-working faculty and staff that continue to put student success and legacy over everything else. As for The Sun, the light shines first on the eastern shore, and The Elm dictates where the shadows are cast. Stories like these serve as reminders of the importance of local journalism and the informed reporting of communities one serves.
Photo courtesy of the WC website.
Photo Caption: Former president Dr. Mike Sosulski moves on from Washington College after working with the administration to stabilize the College’s financial situation.