By Emmanuel Kragbe
Queens College President Franklin H. Wu announced that he will retire on July 30, leaving many in the campus community wondering what comes next for the college.
Franklin H. Wu became the 14th president of Queens College on July 1, 2020, succeeding Interim President William A. Tramontano. By the time he retires on July 30, 2026, he will have served just over six years as president.
“My decision to retire was made recently and impacted by family commitments. After a working life that began when I was 16, I’ll be able to spend more time with my wife, who is already retired, as well as devote my attention to the care of my 90-year-old father, who lives alone,” said President Wu, who shared a statement with the Queens Ledger.
Amid sweeping initiatives to consolidate struggling departments and low student enrollment since COVID, Wu’s abrupt departure comes just days after Queens College’s 101st Commencement, leaving many students and faculty wondering what comes next for the institution. His retirement marks one of the most significant leadership changes at Queens College in recent years, making the search for his successor a critical moment for the college’s future.
On Monday, June 30th, CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodrguguez appointed Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Field Hendrey as the Interim President effective August 1st.
Students, faculty, and staff expressed cautious optimism about the direction of the college’s next administration.
“I look forward to working with Dr. Hendrey to improve our college and benefit the entire campus community,” said Erica Doran, a lecturer in the Psychology Department. “I am happy that the chancellor chose somebody who (like himself) has a history at Queens College, and who knows first-hand the challenges, as both a faculty member and an administrator, that we all face.”
“Our counseling services center, for example, has not had a director for years and has had their numbers drastically reduced, such that there is a counselor-to-student ratio of approximately one counselor for every 5,000 students,” Doran continued. “There is a lot of work needed to rebuild our college into a place where people, both workers and students, can thrive.”
Charles Jacobus, a current senior and staff editor and reporter for The Knight News, also highlighted the numerous challenges Wu faced, including declining enrollment since 2022, poor facility conditions, and budget cuts.
“The student union had flooding issues, key issues too, that had taken a very long time to be acknowledged and then rectified,” said Jacobus. “There have been a lot of budget cuts as well, and then the recent threats, so there’s just a lot that QC has on its plate,” Jacobus continued, referring to a series of email threats demanding Wu’s resignation that disrupted an accreditation ceremony that had taken place in LeFrak Concert Hall in April.
In his statement, Wu listed some of his accomplishments, such as the passing of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation, and notably the creation of the only comprehensive Arts School within the CUNY system — the Queens College School of Arts — as well as the Business School.
“I get concerned that he talks to about accreditation in that way, because I know a lot of people at the college worked extremely hard to realize that, and so it almost feels like, in that case, taking credit for other people’s work,” said Natalie Bump Vena, an assistant professor in the Urban Studies department, in an interview with the Queens Ledger.
In his announcement to the college community, Wu stated that he will remain active in public policy work and advocate for the values that brought him to QC.
