PRESIDENT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
DAY JOB: Leads OC’s largest private university with 10,000 students, more than 80% receive grants or scholarship aid. About $400 million endowment prior to coronavirus-related expenditures and refunds. Took a $13.5 million hit in refunds this spring; estimates further expenditures in the $60 million to $110 million range, including investments in e-learning tools and technologies.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Transitioned to remote instruction overnight; “faculty didn’t miss a beat,” Struppa said in May. Remote work followed for most employees; pledged to pay those who could not do their jobs remotely through the semester. Senior staff and deans have voluntarily agreed to take pay cuts as high as 15% and Struppa took a pay cut of 20% beginning June 1. Offered vacated student housing to first responders, working hand-in-hand with city of Orange. Aggressive plans to reopen campus in fall. In May, said 14 separate task forces had begun preparation for the “CU Safely Back” initiative.
NOTABLE: Continues to boost programs in STEM and health sciences. Fowler School of Engineering, with $45 million from Chapman alumnus Dale Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann, opening this fall. Expansion ofRinker Heath Science Campus near Irvine Spectrum continues; to launch master’s degrees in patient safety and regulatory affairs this fall, curriculum developed in partnership with Joe Kiani’s Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
QUOTABLE: Considering a fully online fall semester, Struppa said, “It’s expensive for us, but we have a financial plan for that and we are counting on an enrollment decrease. I know we can weather it, but I hope it won’t come to pass.” The good news: Chapman received over 1,800 deposits, on track for 1,716 undergraduate openings this fall.
FAST FACTS: Joined Chapman in 2006 as provost; appointed first chancellor following year. Credited with recruiting Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate in economics, Yakir Aharonov, National Medal of Science winner in physics. Struppa became Chapman's 13th president in 2016, succeeding Jim Doti. Avid mountain climber. Wife, Lisa Sparks, founding dean, Chapman School of Communication. Four children.
