Sterling College’s president, Matthew Derr, is stepping down after nearly 10 years at the Craftsbury school. His last day is Oct. 31, according to college officials.
Lori Collins-Hall, Sterling’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, plans to step in as interim president upon Derr’s departure.
“With an exceptional leadership team in place — having achieved the strongest financial position in the college’s history, stable enrollment, record fundraising, a national reputation for our mission, and a collaborative response to the pandemic — this moment permits me the opportunity to consider my own personal and professional aspirations,” Derr wrote in an email to the college community last week.
Derr wrote that he was planning to work on a forthcoming book and take on consulting work. He was not available for an interview Wednesday.
With enrollment a little above 100 students, Sterling is one of the smallest undergraduate institutions in the country, and recent years have not been kind to small, tuition-dependent colleges. In Vermont alone, four such schools have shuttered since 2019.
But Sterling’s enrollment has grown by 24% during Derr’s tenure, according to figures provided by the school. And the college has raised more than $20 million under his leadership and even expanded operations with a tuition-free farming program in Kentucky.
“He was a transformative president for that place,” said Tom Greene, the founding president emeritus of the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
“In some ways, you could say a school like Sterling — in this environment — should be struggling. And it’s not. And that’s a real tribute I think to his leadership, his energy, his vision, his ability to inspire people to get involved with the college and its mission,” said Greene, a former commissioner at the New England Commission of Higher Education, the then-accrediting body for the region.
Trustees have not yet announced details about how Sterling will conduct its search for a permanent replacement.
“Through his good work at Sterling, he has inspired many to consider what is possible in higher education and how it can be a force that strengthens the human relationship with the natural world. Matthew has expanded the college’s aspirations while also honoring its legacy and character,” Pete Chehayl, chair of Sterling’s board of trustees, said in a statement.
