Worried that Wilkes University may balance an $8 million budget deficit by raising tuition or cutting programs, students on Tuesday demanded greater transparency from school leaders.
About 100 students attended a protest outside Weckesser Hall, the location of the president’s office.
“The student body is drawing a line in the sand with how we feel regarding the university leadership and its recent decision making,” junior Johnny Sudol said. “It's been a total lack of transparency. We want to see full transparency moving forward. We want to see good faith leadership, servant leadership. We want better student representation in university committees.”
President Greg Cant, who has served at Wilkes since 2020, did not attend the protest. In a statement issued afterward, the university called its financial position “strong” and said the school is “taking steps to ensure that our revenue and expenses are aligned because they have recently fallen out of balance.”
University leaders announced this fall that a review found the financial shortfall. The university did not address specific questions asked by WVIA News, but said the school “respects the right of all students to engage in free expression on our campus and acknowledges that all student voices are valued.”
In the statement, the university said that dialogue is an important tool for achieving understanding, ensuring clarity and identifying meaningful ways to move forward together, particularly in times of change.
“As all of higher education is challenged to adapt to new and varying conditions, it’s critical that campus community members work collaboratively to navigate these times together,” according to the school. “To that end, we are working with student leadership so that students can speak more directly on concerns they’ve raised and have the opportunity to engage with university administration.”
School employees watched the protest from nearby buildings, and campus security kept close watch. Students spoke about concerns regarding the Title IX coordinator position and lamented the departure of the former coordinator, Elizabeth Leo. They held signs in support of her and others with phrases such as “Cant can’t” and “What would John Wilkes think?”
“We all want Wilkes University to be a successful organization. This is our place of academic study. This is our place of community. For a lot of us, we could probably say we call this home,” said Adam Butterwick, student government president. “I don't believe it matters who sits in the president's seat. We just care about the future success of Wilkes as a whole.”
Senior Penelope Ziegler has one semester left at Wilkes. Her love of the school and concerns about its future brought her to the protest.
“Transparency from a university is really important,” she said. “I'm a resident assistant here, so I have freshmen, and obviously, they still have another 3 1/2 years to go. So I'm advocating for them. I want the institution to be financially strong for them as they're going through school.”
Junior Ciara Williams said she worries that Wilkes will increase costs and tuition and become out of reach.
“I already work part-time. I already go to school full time, and I don't know how I'm going to be able to balance my work-life balance,” she said.
Wilkes’ revenue comes almost exclusively from the tuition, room, board and fees students pay. The school serves more than 5,300 students.
“We remain completely focused on keeping our programs affordable and delivering our promise of a remarkable education,” according to the school.
