ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Robbyn Wacker, the president of St. Cloud State University since 2018, will leave the institution when her contract is completed in June.

“When I arrived, the task that I had in front of me was pretty clear: Improve the enrollment, re-engage with alumni and donors, and add a little bit of Husky pride to the place,” Wacker said Monday.

Enrollment at St. Cloud State ticked upward this year for the first time since 2015. Fall 2023 enrollment was 10,134.

A SCSU collaboration with a for-profit online instruction company called Academic Partnerships has generated controversy on campus: The Save St. Cloud State group and some faculty believe it will replace faculty members.

Robbyn Wacker was named president of St. Cloud State University on May 16, 2018. (Courtesy of Minnesota State)

Wacker, 66, is SCSU’s 24th president and its first female permanent president. She also is the first openly LGBT president in the university’s 154 years. She took over in 2018 for Ashish Vaidya, who was named interim president after Earl Potter died in a 2016 car crash on Interstate 694 in the Twin Cities.

Wacker previously held leadership positions at the University of Northern Colorado.

“During her tenure, Dr. Wacker led the university through the most challenging time in higher education’s history with positivity, empathy, and vision,” Scott Olson, the chancellor of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, said in a statement. “Her commitment to student success and Equity 2030 (a plan to close demographic gaps in Minnesota universities by 2030) has laid a foundation of excellence at the university that will impact the region for years to come.”

A search for an interim SCSU president will be launched in spring 2024, Olson said. The interim president would be installed for a two-year term, with an anticipated start date of July 1.

Wacker didn’t announce any immediate plans but said she expects to remain involved in higher education in some capacity.

“Getting to know our students and feeling like family of sorts has been a real gift,” Wacker said. “As a first generation student myself, coming and seeing the students and their excitement about being here and how they transformed from when they first arrived firsthand is totally remarkable.”

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