We, the undersigned members of the Wells College community – students, faculty, staff, alumnae/alumni/alumx, and the Aurora community – request the immediate removal of Dr. Jonathan Gibralter as president of the college. 

The president serves as the leader of the college. As such, it is his responsibility to preserve, protect, and strengthen the college and its mission, not to hasten its demise. His salary and any associated bonuses are presumably commensurate with the effectiveness with which he advocates for the best interests of the college.

We are well aware that these are extraordinarily difficult times for small liberal arts colleges, and that their survival is not guaranteed. Yet we saw many signs that Wells was to be one of the survivors: The president’s 7 March 2024 e-mail spoke of “exciting updates from our vibrant campus”; on 6 April 2024, he announced admitted students were welcomed to campus; deposits were accepted, and current students were choosing next year’s courses and dorm rooms; plans for Reunion were in full swing. Official communiques gave no hint at what appears to have been taking place for months behind closed doors.

The shock of the announcement at 7:00 am EDST on 29 April 2024, to start off the last week of classes, has cracked open those doors and allowed us to catch glimpses of how all was most definitely not well at Wells College. But these are only glimpses, and not the full picture of the college and its financial health. What we do know is that the trustees voted to close the college abruptly with almost no credible resources in place to help students, faculty and staff obtain meaningful assistance during this life-changing transition. We know additionally that the monies paid to Dr. Gibralter appear to have produced the exact opposite of the results that would be expected from such generous compensation.

This disparity between public assurances and private actions is an unacceptable breach of trust. The lack of transparency and failure to provide fiduciary duty is unacceptable. This is not the college that we recognize, and not the actions that we will accept as inevitable.

We therefore ask for the immediate removal of Dr. Gibralter so that the entire community of Wells College can accordingly act as we have been taught: To think critically, reason wisely, and act humanely as we chart a course for the survival and renewal of our alma mater.