Principia College announced that College President Daniel Norton will be moving on from the position after two years. Dean of Academics Meggan Madden will take over as Interim College President, effective July 1.

The announcement came from Chief Executive Barbara Blackwell via email May 6, and in a follow-up post on the Principia College Watercooler, the next morning with the same message. The announcement detailed a list of highlights from his time, including descriptions of work she attributed to him as an effort to improve campus culture, international student support, and campus dining.

“Throughout the time my wife Carolyn and I have been here at Principia College, we’ve worked to support change and progress on many fronts,” Norton said in an emailed statement to The Pilot. He went on to reference advancement in many of the same areas Blackwell gave him credit for in her announcement. Additionally, he gave gratitude for the people he worked with at Principia, “I am grateful for the collaboration with a dedicated group of faculty, administrators, and staff.”

Blackwell told The Pilot that the decision to move on to new leadership was “mostly a Principia thing.” She said both in the announcement and in an interview that Norton was an agent of change. However, when referring to the decision for him to move on she said, “Maybe there is a different kind of leadership style for implementing and executing those changes.”

That leadership will come from Madden for the foreseeable future according to Blackwell. 

“There are no immediate plans to launch a search [for a permanent president]. During the upcoming academic year, we will determine how we will move forward,” she said.

Madden brings more than 30 years of administrative experience to the position according to Blackwell. This includes six years as the Dean of Academics at Principia and a brief tenure as acting president during the fall of 2019. 

Madden answered some questions via email about her appointment including one on how she has been prepared for the position. 

“My whole career trajectory has been in higher education. My master’s and doctoral degrees studied the topic of higher education. And, I have worked at six different universities/colleges, which gives me the necessary background to understand the complexity of what is involved in leading a college,” she said.

Madden went on to say that she has had a front row seat to see Norton work from her current position, so she is familiar with some of the intricacies of the job. She also said, “I hope that I can get to know students individually so that I can learn more about individual students’ college experiences and career goals.”

Students compared Norton’s tenure to that of his predecessor and said overall they wished he had been more involved in the community. 

Senior Quinn Narcisian, a biology major, said she wasn’t shocked that Norton was leaving. “If there’s no engagement with the student body, how long are you really going to stay president?” she said.

Narcisian was a student for two years at Principia when Norton’s predecessor, John Williams, was serving as college president. She said she liked that Williams was very involved with campus life. Narcisian said she was disappointed that Norton wasn’t as involved. She said she remembered Norton leaving Game of Homes, a large event featuring competition between all houses on campus, early despite committing to being a judge at the event. “He left before the event even began and it was pretty upsetting for him to leave instead of showing face like John Williams did.” 

In the announcement, Blackwell wrote that Norton, “Improved the House culture on campus by emphasizing our unique environment offering a positive, uplifting, and dry campus for students.”

However, none of the students interviewed for this story said they shared that perspective. “I don’t think he has at all contributed to house culture,” said Narcisian. 

Norton and the rest of college administration closed Lowrey House near the end of the Spring 2024 semester, due to alcohol related issues according to a Watercooler post made on May 14, 2024. 

Blackwell backed that decision at the time writing, “I’m not here, I’m not part of the student life here on campus, but I fully supported Dr. Norton’s decision about Lowrey.” 

Narcisian commended Norton for his management of Principia’s financials. “I recognize that he is pretty good at handling money… he may have really helped get us away from some debt.”

Norton also initiated an “academic reimagination” of the Principia curriculum. The announcement said of it, “This… positions Principia as distinctive and forward-thinking, with unique offerings to distinguish us in today’s competitive higher education landscape.”

Students said they were hopeful about that legacy. 

“It has the potential to be productive and could add a lot,” said Narcisian, “I really hope for the sake of the students that are still at Prin that it is beneficial.”

The integration of the International Student Programs and Services (ISPaSO) was a point of contention among international students and administration, though administration argued it should have been done sooner. 

“A lot of internationals felt that he was trying to lower our voices,” senior education major Gaby Quintero said. “Getting rid of ISPaSO as its own entity showed push-back on Prin being an international place.”

“I’m glad that he’s leaving because I hope it brings fresh air to campus,” she said. 

Norton made student loans available to international students for the first time to help them pay their tuition, but some students said this didn’t balance out his other actions. Quintero said it is harder for international students to pay off student loans than it is for domestic students. 

“I think there are really strong plans in place that Norton began and that we will continue that will strengthen enrollment,” said Blackwell. 

One such plan was the subject of a Watercooler post from Norton on May 6, and is an initiative to bring in a new national food vender to campus and revamp dining. Improvements will include extended dining hours, a standard meal plan with more meals per week, and increased access to fruits and vegetables, according to the Watercooler post.

Blackwell anticipates that students will appreciate these changes, and Madden said she was committed to following through on them. “Thanks to Dr. Norton, we’ll be able to make improvements this summer so that, when students return, we’ll have an improved dining experience,” she said in an email.

Students said they were feeling hopeful about the Intirim President.

“I feel like she is a bit more connected with students,” said Olivia Frank, a sophomore studying music. 

Madden will be the college’s fourth president since Jolanda Westerhoff resigned suddenly in 2019.