President Schult Steps Down, Rejoins Board of Trustees

Robert Schult, who has led the university through a time of transition and helped the school improve its financial footing and direction, will step down from his position as president of Claremont Graduate University, effective January 1, 2017, and will return to the university’s Board of Trustees, according to a Trustee message sent out to the community earlier today.

Schult took the helm on July 1, 2015, at the start of a three-year transition period that has seen broad administrative reorganization, including measures to improve the university’s fiscal and infrastructural organization.

According to the Trustee statement by Board Chair Mike Rossi, Schult has informed the role of university president with his experiences as former president and chief operating officer of Nestle USA and as a co-founder and former managing director at VMG Equity Partners. In addition to CGU, Schult has also served on several other boards, including the Times Mirror Company and UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

The Schult announcement also says that the university’s Board has appointed Jacob Adams, Executive Vice President and Provost, as Interim President and Patricia Easton, who serves as Vice President for Student and Enrollment Services, to serve as Executive Vice President and Provost. Adams and Easton will operate in these roles for the remaining 18 months of the planned transition period.

Rossi’s message points out how these internal appointments will enable the university to leverage the extensive experience of Adams and Easton to guide the university through a phase of academic and programmatic restructuring and raising funds in support of the university’s many flagship programs.

With the start of a new academic year in mid-2017, Rossi’s statement also says, the Board will put in place the process by which a new president will be selected to begin a full term starting July 1, 2018.