University of the Arts president to retire in June 2023

Another Philadelphia college president has announced his exit: David Yager, who has led the University of the Arts since 2016, will retire next summer, the school announced Tuesday.

Yager will help the school with its transition as it searches for a new president over the next year, officials said.

“Leading this incredible creative community has been the highlight of my career, and it has been a true honor and privilege to serve our university and its inspiring students,” Yager said in a statement.

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Yager oversaw the university’s first capital campaign, a $67 million effort that boosted the endowment and helped to fund student scholarships and provide student assistance during the pandemic. A new student center is scheduled to be built this summer. And his leadership led to the development of UArts’ international master’s of fine arts in dance and a doctorate in creativity.

The 1,500-student university recently announced that Questlove — who served as commencement speaker this month — and the whiskey distiller The Balvenie would support a three-year, fully funded fellowship for the creativity program. The inaugural fellow will be the saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis, who will start this summer.

» READ MORE: A new president for University of the Arts

In the last year, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, La Salle, St. Joseph’s, Moore College of Art & Design, Holy Family, University of the Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, and Chestnut Hill College all have seen new presidents come or announcements for their presidents to depart.

The change in city college presidents is part of a larger turnover. Other area colleges that have seen changes in the last year or are expecting a change in the top post include Pennsylvania State University, Ursinus College, Delaware Valley University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, and Dickinson College.

There’s no universal reason for the departures. Some presidents have left or are leaving for new jobs. Others are retiring after long careers. The average tenure of a college president in 2017 was 6.5 years, according to the American Council on Education.