The president of Seton Hall University is stepping down and an interim president will take over the Catholic university, school officials announced Monday.
Joseph Nyre, Seton Hall’s president since 2019, will take a year-long sabbatical before formally relinquishing the top job and segueing into a new role as a senior adviser to the private university, according to a statement shared with the campus community.
His resignation comes eight months after the dean of Seton Hall School of Law resigned following a university investigation into “irregular financial transactions” at the law school in Newark. In December, the university announced a small number of “trusted, long-time employees” were found to have cheated Seton Hall Law School out of more than $975,000.
Officials did not cite the investigation into the financial problems in the announcement last year about Seton Hall School of Law Dean Kathleen Boozang’s decision to return to the classroom. It was also not mentioned in Monday’s announcement about the resignation of the president.
In a message to the school community, Nyre cited the impending conclusion of a campus-wide strategic planning initiative in explaining his decision to step aside as president and take a sabbatical.
“In the coming months, the University will complete its three-year strategic plan, Harvest Our Treasures, which has elevated Seton Hall to greater eminence in Catholic higher education,” Nyre said in his message.
“With the conclusion of Harvest Our Treasures in sight, I believe this is an appropriate time for new leadership to help write the next chapter of Seton Hall’s remarkable story. As such, I have informed the Board of Regents that I will be taking a sabbatical during the upcoming year and then plan to relinquish my position as President,” Nyre said.
Nyre will be staying on as a special adviser, said Hank D’Alessandro, chair of the Seton Hall Board of Regents.
An interim president will be named “shortly,” D’Alessandro said in his statement to the campus community.
“On behalf of the Board of Regents, I would like to extend the University’s sincere gratitude to President Nyre for the many ways he has elevated Seton Hall during his tenure,” D’Alessandro said.
“He led us through COVID-19 while continuing to advance and achieve vital strategic goals, helping the University avoid the pandemic paralysis that became commonplace across much of U.S. higher education. His leadership resulted in great strides across nearly every aspect of the Seton Hall experience, including enrollment and retention, academics, student services, affordability, campus buildings and fundraising,” D’Alessandro said
Nyre was president of Iona College in New York, now known as Iona University, prior to becoming Seton Hall’s president in 2019.
School officials have said little about the alleged schemes that cheated the South Orange-based university out of nearly $1 million.
Seton Hall employees, who were not publicly named by the university, “engaged in a series of schemes and improprieties designed to enrich themselves” over several years, Nyre and the board of regents said in an announcement in December.
University officials said they notified authorities about the alleged financial irregularities late last year. No additional details were announced.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.