St. Cloud State interim president announces departure

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The revolving door of leadership is spinning again at St. Cloud State University.

SCSU Interim President Larry Lee announced in a letter to colleagues Tuesday that he will leave the university to become president of Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois.

“I care deeply about St. Cloud State University and appreciate the trust the faculty and staff have placed in me,” Lee wrote in his letter. “I have enjoyed developing solutions to our challenges in partnership with all of you and I wholeheartedly believe in a bright future for this university.” I would love to stay and see it from the inside, but I would rather enjoy seeing SCSU flourish from afar.

Lee’s tenure in the SCSU president’s office was always meant to be temporary; St. Cloud State announced in April that former Illinois State University President Larry Dietz had been selected to serve as SCSU’s interim president effective July 1.

Lee said he would continue to serve as acting president until Dietz arrived; Lee’s last day at college will be in mid-July.

Lee joined St. Cloud State University in 2022 as vice president of finance and administration. He was named interim president earlier this month after Dr. Robbyn Wacker resigned from the role several weeks earlier than expected. It was then up to Lee to announce a new round of planned budget cuts at SCSU, including eliminating several major and faculty positions.