The president of Arcadia University is out of a job tonight.
In a press release, the Montgomery County private college announced that Carl (Tobey) Oxholm III was out as president after less than two years at the helm.
The Board of Trustees of the Glenside, Pa.-based private institution voted out Oxholm, effective last Friday, and named vice president Dr. Nicolette DeVille Christensen as Chief Operating Officer, she wasn’t named president.
No reason was given for Oxholm’s dismissal and with students on spring break there were few on campus to talk about the matter.
In a letter sent to alumni the Board thanked Oxholm "for his service to Arcadia, and for the many accomplishments the University has experienced during his tenure."
Oxholm became Arcadia’s 20th president on April 28, 2011. In a statement, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was “surprised and disappointed” by his ouster.
"It was without cause and those who conveyed the decision to me declined to give me any reason or explanation for the decision or the speed of its implementation," Oxholm told the Inquirer.
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Arcadia, with an enrollment around 2,200 students, ranks No. 33 on U.S. News’ list of North Regional Universities.
Christensen’s work as executive director of the College of Global Studies was heralded in the university’s press release. In the alumni letter, Board of Trustees chair Margaret Wright Steele said that the Board is "confident that Dr. Christensen will move the University forward in a positive direction."
