Wichita State President Jay Golden resigns less than a year after taking over

Wichita State University President Jay Golden resigned from his position Friday, less than a year after being hired by the Kansas Board of Regents, according to a statement from the board.

The resignation is effective immediately.

Golden’s tenure began in January after a lengthy and closed search to replace former President John Bardo, who died last spring. The university spent roughly $129,000 to hire Golden.

Before the spring semester had ended, Golden came under fire from donors who called for his job in June after Wichita State dropped presidential daughter Ivanka Trump as the keynote speaker at the WSU Tech graduation.

Multiple donors threatened to pull support from Wichita State and cut ties, including former regent Steve Clark and David Mitchell, a longtime booster and member of the presidential search committee.

Golden’s job appeared to be safe after a more than four-hour emergency closed-session meeting of the Regents on June 10. The Kansas Board of Regents issued a cryptic statement that didn’t shed light on whether Golden would be fired but student body President Rija Khan announced that night that he would stay at the university.

Regents provided no explanation for Golden’s departure Friday. His resignation followed a special board of regents meeting called Thursday afternoon in Topeka. The board did not provide news outlets or the public with remote access to the meeting.

Regent Jon Rolph, a Wichita restaurateur, said most of the meeting was spent in an executive session to discuss a personnel matter, meaning it was closed to the public. He would neither confirm nor deny whether the meeting was about Golden.

Rolph said Golden’s resignation was not related to the Ivanka Trump controversy.

“Being a part of the conversations around accepting Jay’s resignation today, that was clear,” he said.

What remains unclear is whether Golden volunteered to step down or was forced out by the board.

Rolph said state privacy laws prohibit him from discussing the circumstances of Golden’s resignation.

“There’s no impropriety,” he said.

Kansas Board of Regents Chair Bill Feuerborn issued the following statement Friday afternoon:

“Wichita State University President Jay Golden has submitted his resignation to the Kansas Board of Regents. The Board is thankful for his service. We are appreciative of his hard work and dedication to the university and are grateful for his commitment to serving students. We wish him well in all his future endeavors.

“Wichita State Provost Rick Muma will serve as acting president while the Board considers options for an interim president. We are thankful that Rick is willing to step into this role.”

In a Friday afternoon address to the student body, Student Government Association President Rija Khan said student leaders were surprised by the sudden departure.

“We’re saddened to learn this news and join you in our confusion of the details surrounding this decision to resign. We know there are many questions, and we have just as much information as you at this point in time,” Khan said.

“We are thankful for Dr. Golden and all that he has done for students on our campus,” Khan said in a written statement. “He was very student-centered. Dr. Golden always brought us to the table and made sure our voices were heard. We will continue working on our initiatives with Acting President Muma.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 2:38 PM.