Ambrose exits Henderson

By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

Henderson State University is in the market for a chancellor after the resignation of Dr. Charles Ambrose. Ambrose announced his exit Monday afternoon. His resignation is effective Sept. 15.

A search process for the next chancellor will begin soon, the university said in a press release.

Henderson praised Ambrose in a news release, noting that he “led a restructure of the academic program into four learning communities while also realigning the mission and resources of the university to focus on student success and learning outcomes. Under Ambrose’s leadership, Henderson improved from seven days of cash on hand in 2019 to 50 days of cash on hand in 2022 during implementation of a modified cash budget.”

Ambrose’s 20-month stint at Henderson will also be remembered for tremendous faculty cuts and liberal arts offerings.

“Henderson faced our challenges head on by restructuring the university to provide a more sustainable model focused on student success,” Ambrose wrote in a letter released to the campus on Monday. “During the past two years, we have confronted our financial and structural challenges, utilized transparent data to inform decision-making, and focused on access and affordability for students while reallocating resources to offer degrees that best align to community and future workforce needs.”

Ambrose also sent a personalized letter in an email to faculty and staff.

Timeline

• November 2021 – Ambrose is hired as chancellor at Henderson. He was one of three candidates interviewed by a 14-member search advisory committee

• February 2022 – Ambrose announces campus-wide furloughs — a move he would tout, a month later, saved the university $3.2 million

• March 2022 – Henderson begins the process of cutting programs and positions

• April 2022 – Administrative leadership is reorganized

• May 2022 – In the same week that faculty cuts and academic reorganization are made official, Henderson’s faculty senate gives Ambrose a vote of no confidence

• June 2022 – Remaining employees return to a full workweek as furloughs end

Ambrose was appointed chancellor in November 2021. At the time, ASU System President Dr. Chuck Welch voiced high praise for Ambrose’s arrival on campus, calling him a “nationally renowned educator and innovator to Henderson” who was “experienced in creating efficient and sustainable universities that are focused on student success.”

“He’s exactly the kind of experienced, visionary leader that we hoped to attract and that Henderson deserves at this critical time in its history,” Welch said in the original announcement.

When he was hired, Ambrose said he looked forward to “being a part of a community that is aggressively elevating that commitment to student success and will help redefine what normal can look like” for Henderson.

A year after the eliminations and program cuts, Ambrose’s decisions as the university’s leader still leaves a mixed bag of emotions for professors who were eliminated or forced into early retirement.

“Ambrose was what they call a ‘finisher’ in the business world, someone sent to close down a plant and fire everyone,” said the now-retired Michael Taylor, who chaired the university’s communications department at the time the eliminations were announced last summer. “His job is done. The sad thing is that Chuck Welch knew this all along.”

At the announcement of his resignation, Welch said this about Ambrose: “I am grateful for Dr. Ambrose’s leadership and the work by everyone on campus during the past two years to position Henderson for success now and into the future. We have great leadership on campus as we move toward the beginning of the fall semester and look forward to welcoming students in a few weeks.”