Staunton | Mary Baldwin faculty voice concerns with vote of no confidence in Board of Trustees

The first week of classes for the 2025-2026 academic year began normally for Mary Baldwin University students, until their college president suddenly resigned his position.

Dr. Jeffrey Stein joined MBU as its 10th president in 2023 following the retirement of Pamela Fox, who served for 20 years. Stein came to MBU after serving as vice president of Elon College in North Carolina since 2019.

“President Stein was very active on our campus, and he was beloved,” said a faculty member who spoke to Augusta Free Press on condition of anonymity.

The faculty member said that MBU students are angry and sad that Stein is gone, and faculty are concerned students will transfer, not to mention concerned about whether new students will choose the downtown Staunton university in the future.

Last Wednesday, according to the faculty member, faculty who are part of a faculty council at MBU, which is similar to a faculty senate, held a Zoom meeting to vote on a vote of no confidence in MBU’s Board of Trustees in response to Stein’s abrupt resignation.

The “difficult meeting” resulted in a close vote because faculty “are really struggling with this.” The vote reflected a divided MBU campus.

The faculty member said that faculty voted for or against the vote of no confidence out of their love for MBU.

A resolution was created that day, and the faculty member, who also participated in the Zoom meeting and the vote, said the majority of faculty in attendance voted in favor of the vote of no confidence. The faculty member added that the Zoom meeting was “one of the most attended meetings that I’ve ever seen.”

“It means that the majority of the faculty do not have confidence in the board’s decisions,” the faculty member said.

They believe the board’s decisions pose a potential harm to the MBU community and the downtown Staunton community.

“Any decisions the board makes do impact the larger community,” the faculty member said.

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ICYMI: Dr. Jeffrey Stein news

• ‘Honored and humbled’: Mary Baldwin University names Dr. Jeff Stein as 10th president
• Mary Baldwin University President Jeff Stein resigns

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The faculty member said that one of the biggest issues for faculty with the resignation of Stein and sudden announcement of a new president, Todd Telemeco, who previously served as MBU’s vice president and dean of the Murphy Deming School of Health Sciences in Fishersville for two years, is the timing.

“It was extremely disruptive to students,” the faculty member said. And faculty members are frustrated by the timing, because all directives for programming and classroom instruction come from MBU’s president. Suddenly, just two weeks into a new academic year, faculty may have different directives from a new university president.

According to the faculty member, the decision for Stein’s resignation just after the academic year began felt like a “rug pulled out from under” faculty.

“It really felt to many people that the board doesn’t understand the impact of their actions,” the faculty member said.

Faculty also have concern about MBU’s reputation as they are asked everywhere they go now about what happened to Stein. They request transparency from the board about the decision for Stein to leave.

The faculty member said that faculty were asked by the university not to speak with media about Stein’s departure, and that faculty are concerned about retaliation if they do speak.

In a statement to AFP, the university said it is aware of the faculty’s resolution of a vote of no confidence in the board after Stein’s resignation and Telemeco’s appointment as the 11th president.

“The Board and the administration will continue to prioritize the sustainability of Mary Baldwin,” the university said in a statement.

The university also acknowledges the challenges that small universities, including MBU, face but the university’s strength is in a dedicated faculty and staff, aspirations of students, a distinctive mix of academic offerings, the engagement of MBU alumni, “and 183 years of academic excellence, resilience and an innovative spirit.”

“Mary Baldwin‘s administration will continue to listen, engage, and work in partnership with faculty, staff, and students to sustain the proud legacy of Mary Baldwin and ensure its future,” the university’s statement said.

Faculty made two amendments to their resolution Friday, including a footnote about the board’s bylaws being unavailable, but the bylaws were made public the day after the Zoom meeting. Faculty also amended the resolution which contained a clause that the board initiated the leadership change, but who initiated the change is unclear at this time.

“He knew their names. Nobody is perfect. President Stein‘s gift is building relationships and that was very clear,” the faculty member said.

While no one is sure what will happen next, the faculty member said that faculty know the reality is Stein will not return to MBU, but they want transparency from the board going forward.

“It’s unclear what will be happening at this point or what to expect,” the faculty member said.

The board so far has not responded to the vote of no confidence.

“All the faculty want is to do the best thing. It’s just that we’re not sure what that is,” the faculty member said.

In a Friday communication ahead of the vote, the Board of Trustees informed alumni and donors that they “heard and acknowledge that this change was surprising and has stirred understandable emotion.”

“First, let us assure you: Dr. Stein’s decision to resign was not prompted by any illegal, unethical or improper behavior. As we hope you can understand, because personnel matters are confidential, we are not able to share further details about his decision. We remain grateful for his service and wish him and Chrissy the very best,” Board of Trustees members Eloise Chandler ’77 and Dr. Constance Dierickx wrote.

According to their letter, they understand questions were raised by Telemeco’s sudden appointment, but they “took seriously the stress a search process would place on our University‘s resources.”

“Continuity and stability were paramount, and we strongly believe that the right leader is Dr. Telemeco,” they wrote. They insisted that the board’s decision was consistent with its bylaws, which are available on MBU’s website.

In response to rumors that a plan involves closing undergraduate residential, Chandler and Dierickx wrote that a mandate to close does not exist, but universities MBU’s size “must continue to find ways to adapt in the current economic and academic climate, which is exactly what we have been doing and will continue to do going forward.”

They acknowledged that the university faces challenges, such as decline of national enrollments, rising costs, an aging campus infrastructure and a need to rebalance MBU’s discount rate.

“At the same time, MBU is in a uniquely strong position. Unlike other universities of our size, our academic offerings are diversified across undergraduate, graduate, online, and health sciences programs. Our Staunton residential campus remains at the heart of our mission and identity,” they wrote.

A balanced MBU budget is expected in 2025, but to accomplish a balanced budget one-time measures are necessary.

“I speak for myself and many other faculty when I say we’re heartbroken,” a second MBU faculty member said to AFP on condition of anonymity, who also participated in the Zoom faculty meeting, resolution and vote.

The second faculty member said that MBU faculty have worked with financial uncertainty for years.

“When they brought in Jeff Stein, our most recent president a couple years ago, he was very transparent,” the second faculty member said. Stein was able to lift faculty morale in his two years as president. “Because we thought we knew what the vision was moving forward.”

Stein made MBU faculty feel as if “he was in it with us.” Stein’s slogan as president was “We’re all in for Mary Baldwin.”

According to the second faculty member, Stein would informally approach faculty and staff to discuss certain topics. He had a vision to lift morale, and he listened after asking what does financial stability look like to university faculty. But then he resigned.

“We were all just stunned. And very hurt on his behalf because it was clear it wasn’t something he had done,” the second faculty member said.

From what faculty are gathering, Stein was not rebuilding the university’s financial stability fast enough to suit the board and now the Staunton campus has a president who is someone they do not know after a year-long search brought Stein to MBU.

“It just all felt so quick. It was like whiplash. they put in someone we liked [and now he’s gone],” the second faculty member said. And the board remained otherwise silent after the resignation.

Faculty felt that a vote for no confidence was better than other ideas such as staging a strike and disrupting students’ lives.

“I think part of it was we felt we were without a vision,” the second faculty member said of MBU without Stein.

The timing of Stein’s departure was not good with the start of a new academic year and, after two years, Stein and his wife had blended into the campus community. His wife was involved with tutoring at the writing center.

In shock, faculty are unsure of Telemeco’s vision, because they are hearing that the undergraduate campus will not be valued compared to Murphy Deming. Faculty also continue to feel “righteous indignation” on Stein’s behalf for the way he was made to leave MBU without any kindness or gratitude for what he had accomplished in two years.

The second faculty member said that two board members resigned following Stein’s removal. Faculty felt little trust in the board before Stein was named president, then they trusted Stein, and now they have nobody to trust.

“Not only are we scared for our future, but we’re pissed off for [Stein],” the second faculty member said.

Faculty positions were cut a few years ago, and last year budget cuts were made to departments and department offerings, according to the second faculty member, and now it appears that more cuts are ahead.