Guilford College president steps down after three years

Guilford College president Kyle Farmbry has resigned after three years on the job, according to an announcement from the private, Quaker institution in Greensboro, N.C.

“After conferring with the Board on our respective views for the strategic path forward and future operational changes, I concluded that it was time for change,” Farmbry wrote in a message to the community last week.

In a statement from the Board of Trustees, Chair Jean Parvin Bordewich thanked Farmbry for his leadership “at a challenging time, during which he dealt with a number of unexpected crises including the cyberattack in 2022 and growing budget deficits.”

The college’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, placed the institution on probation in December 2023 because it “failed to demonstrate compliance with the Principles of Accreditation,” primarily regarding financial responsibility. It remains accredited but is now entering its second year on probation.

Bordewich will serve as interim president and Farmbry will stay on temporarily as an adviser to assist the board with the transition, the college said.

“I am optimistic and excited about Guilford’s future—but first we must navigate out of our financial difficulties,” Bordewich wrote in the board statement. “We have within us the ability and wisdom to change and adapt to the new era that has arrived in higher education and in the world.”

“Guilford’s next President will need your patience and support,” Farmbry wrote. “I very much hope that community members will engage, provide ideas, and, most importantly, support the new leadership.”