Wheeling University’s president is suspended with pay.
A private college in West Virginia has recently experienced financial difficulties.
A private West Virginia university that has struggled financially announced that its president has been suspended with pay.
The Wheeling University Board of Trustees announced in an email on Tuesday that President Ginny Favede had been relieved of her duties, according to news reports. The statement provided no explanation for the suspension, and a school spokesperson told The Intelligencer Wheeling News Register that additional information would not be released right away.
Favede became the school’s 13th president when she was appointed in 2019 amid financial difficulties. In 2021, the school was placed on probation after the Higher Learning Commission determined it “does not have sufficient fiscal resources to support its operation,” citing its reliance on Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston subsidies. The probation was lifted last year, but the organization stated that it would continue to monitor the school due to concerns about finances, staffing, and enrollment.
The university said graduate education director Dianna Vargo was named interim chief operations officer and will work with the Board of Trustees to develop a plan to move forward without disruption.
