October 14th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

One of the reasons that Frostburg State University faculty has spoken out against the leadership of Dr. Ron Nowaczyk is a concerning drop in enrollment.  Faculty member Andy Duncan, a professor of English and Foreign Languages, says there has been a marked drop in the number of students attending the college in the last 7 years…

“Our undergrad enrollment has dropped from fall 2016 to fall 2023 from 4,84 to 3,344. So we’ve lost a third of our students. Arguably, we have driven away a third of our students. That’s fifteen hundred fewer undergrads. That’s hundreds of students not shopping and working and volunteering and paying taxes in Allegany County and that loss is incalculable.”

Duncan says his concerns lie not only with the university’s future, but also with effects on the local area…

“I worry for my students. I worry for my colleagues. I worry for the university. And I worry for the university, I mean, excuse me, the community for which our university is absolutely vital.”