Saint Mary's names new president as university grapples with enrolment, financial woes

Saint Mary's University has appointed Michael Khan to be its next president and vice-chancellor.

Khan, who will officially become the 35th president of Saint Mary's on July 1, will be joining the Halifax school as it faces financial pressures related to inflation, funding and international students.

Saint Mary's is dealing with a decline in enrolment. It had about 12 per cent fewer students in 2024 than it did 10 years earlier, according to statistics from the Association of Atlantic Universities.

"We are challenged by declining enrolments and external pressures, including inflation, resulting in year-over-year deficits and the erosion of our General Fund," current president Robert Summerby-Murray wrote in the university's annual financial report dated March 31, 2024.

"We anticipate this to continue in the near term, as reduced student cohorts progress through our programs."

Financial issues and cutbacks

He wrote that the school's executive management group developed a "multi-year plan" to ensure its return to financial stability.

In April 2024, the union representing faculty members called on Summerby-Murray to resign.

The union also said there was a lack of transparency at Saint Mary's around financial issues and cutbacks, and concerns about capital project spending. Saint Mary's ran an operating deficit of $9.8 million in 2023, according to its financial statements.

Khan 'honoured and delighted' to join SMU

In May 2024, Saint Mary's said it would be one of the hardest-hit universities after the federal government reduced the number of international student permits. Summerby-Murray told faculty in an email that the university should anticipate a potential decline in revenue from first-year international tuition alone of $5 million to $6 million.

In a news release about his appointment, Khan said he was "honoured and delighted" to join Saint Mary's.

"Saint Mary's is celebrated both nationally and internationally for its excellence in research, teaching and community engagement. The university's values align closely with my own. I am committed to supporting students in realizing their goals and aspirations," Khan said in the release.

Khan has served as provost and academic vice-president at Trent University since 2020. In June 2024, the school in Peterborough, Ont., announced he had recommitted for a second five-year term that was supposed to begin Aug. 1, 2025.

Prior to Trent, Khan was dean of human kinetics at the University of Windsor, where he oversaw the kinesiology department and athletics and recreational services. He was previously the head of the school of sport, health and exercise sciences at Bangor University in Wales.