The presidents of Harrisburg University are abruptly resigning

Eric Darr, president of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, announced his resignation Friday afternoon a statement from the university who did not provide details about the decision.

“On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Dr. Darr for his work on behalf of our students,” reads a statement from board chairman Mark Singel on the website.

Darr has been involved with the institution since it was founded in Pennsylvania in 2001, first as vice president of finance and administration and then as provost before becoming president in 2013.

The board chairman pointed to his role in helping the university grow.

“The HU opened its doors to only 113 students in 2005,” Singel’s statement said. “Today it employs more than 600 employees and serves approximately 6,500 undergraduate and graduate students.”

The vast majority of Harrisburg’s graduate students live remote, according to Penn Liveand the university has faced steep budget deficits for the past two fiscal years: $8.4 million for 2022-2023, and $6.4 million in 2023-2024.

Earlier this year, Harrisburg closed its international campuses in Panama and Dubai.

David Schankweiler, who served as the university’s first board chairman for a decade, has been named interim president as officials launch a national search for their next leader.

“We certainly have some challenges ahead, but we are already hard at work addressing them,” Schankweiler said in a statement. “Our next president will continue the tremendous progress we have made at HU since the first exploratory meetings over a quarter of a century ago.”