Wells College announced Thursday it has parted ways with President Jonathan Gibralter:
Jonathan Gibralter and Wells have parted ways effective June 20, 2024. I know that Jonathan deeply values the spirit of Wells College and was honored to serve the institution for the last nine years. The Board of Trustees thanks President Gibralter for his service to Wells.
The Board is working to name the next leader of Wells College and I will communicate again when that work concludes. As that process continues, College operations will be managed by Susan Henking, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, and Robert Cree, Chief Financial Officer. We thank them for their efforts on behalf of Wells and in partnership with the Board.
Best,
Marie Chapman Carroll
Chair, Board of Trustees
Gibralter arrived at Wells College in July 2015. Before coming to Aurora, he served as president of Frostburg State University in western Maryland. He began his career in higher education within the State University of New York system. Following appointments as a faculty member, academic program director, and associate dean for the school of liberal arts at Morrisville, he served as dean of academic affairs, campus dean, and interim president in the SUNY community college system, ultimately assuming the presidency of Farmingdale State College. He has also been active in his community by teaching leadership classes at Syracuse University and is a member of CenterState CEO, a business leadership and economic development organization servicing Central New York and beyond.
Gibralter arrived at Wells College in July 2015. Before coming to Aurora, he served as president of Frostburg State University in western Maryland. He began his career in higher education within the State University of New York system. Following appointments as a faculty member, academic program director, and associate dean for the school of liberal arts at Morrisville, he served as dean of academic affairs, campus dean, and interim president in the SUNY community college system, ultimately assuming the presidency of Farmingdale State College. He has also been active in his community by teaching leadership classes at Syracuse University and is a member of CenterState CEO, a business leadership and economic development organization servicing Central New York and beyond.
Wells credited Gibralter with funding tens of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to improve Wells and continue its educational mission and values. Facilities like the college’s athletics complex and dormitories were renovated and improved for students, new majors like digital marketing, hospitality management, and data analytics were added to the college’s list of academic programs, and the local water plant, which supplies both Wells and Village of Aurora, was modernized and refurbished to aid both the local and college community.
It was announced back on April 29th that Wells College would close at the end of the spring semester, citing “enormous financial challenges coupled with a shrinking pool of undergraduate students, inflationary pressures and an overall negative sentiment towards higher education” as the reasons why.
Days later, a report from CNY Central claimed that as the college was going broke, Gibralter was accepting an average of $50,000 a year in bonuses and received more than $310,000 in bonuses between 2016 and 2011.
When asked about the president’s bonuses while the college operated on a loss, Wells College told CNY Central it doesn’t comment on personnel matters, but says it considered every option to keep the college open.
