Washington College, a 243-year-old liberal-arts institution on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, is facing mounting financial strain and leadership upheaval as it searches for stability in a shifting higher-education landscape.

Enrollment at the Chestertown campus fell to 923 students last year, down from 1,515 in 2011. That decline has pressured finances, forcing the school to trim staff, furlough senior leaders, and dip more deeply into its $300 million endowment than is considered best practice. The school has also cycled through five presidents or interim presidents in the past decade; the most recent, Mike Sosulski, left last month to lead Lake Forest College outside Chicago.

“The college has had structural budget challenges for years,” said Rick Wheeler, chair of Washington College’s board. “We’ve made some right-sizing decisions to align expenses with enrollment.”

Those measures include eliminating nearly 40 staff positions, reducing cabinet salaries by 7% and requiring furloughs for top-paid administrators. Sosulski, who earned $441,000 in base pay in 2024, reported taking a 20% pay cut before departing. Faculty ranks have also shrunk to 94, from 103 last year, largely through attrition and reductions in visiting positions.

Even with cuts, operating expenses exceeded unrestricted revenues by nearly $21 million in fiscal 2024, according to financial filings. The college drew 8% from its endowment to help close the gap, well above the 5% withdrawal rate considered sustainable. “You can’t do that every year,” said Mark Connell, Washington’s vice president for finance.

The college’s struggles echo those of small liberal-arts schools nationwide, many of which were hit hard by the pandemic and longer-term demographic shifts. With fewer college-age students and growing demand for business and technology degrees, institutions like Washington face pressure to prove the economic value of a liberal-arts education.

“There’s a perception that liberal-arts colleges don’t deliver career outcomes, even though the data shows otherwise,” said Bryan Alexander, a Georgetown University scholar who studies higher education.

In Chestertown, alumni and residents worry the school’s stumbles could ripple through the town, where Washington College looms large as both employer and cultural hub. “This is my hometown,” said alumnus Skip Middleton, a critic of the college’s management. “I’m doing this to save the school.”

Washington College has sought to bolster its appeal with a new business school, backed by a $15 million alumni gift, and officials say freshman enrollment is ticking up this fall. But much depends on the next president, whom the board expects to hire within two years.

“We’ve got to sell it better,” said former Maryland Stadium Authority chair John Moag, a 1977 graduate. “The education here is strong, but the leadership has to catch up to the moment.”

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