California Lutheran University Interim President John A. Nunes appointed Laureen Hill (‘83) as Executive Partner for Strategic Planning & Business Development on Dec. 1, 2024, in an effort to improve the university’s current financial position.

Nunes said it’s “no secret” that Cal Lutheran’s enrollment has decreased by 25% since 2018. He said that the university’s expenses have risen and are continuing to rise, and students have been able to absorb some but not all of the extra expenses. 

According to Hill, the university has formed two task forces to address the current problem of the university’s finances. The task forces, one focused on short-term deliverables and the other focused on long-term development, will both be led and managed by Hill. 

Following her graduation from Cal Lutheran with a degree in medical technology, Hill said she spent her professional career in the healthcare field. She said that this position will be her first time in non-health care related academics, as she spent the majority of her career in academic-related medicine.

“I think my work leading in healthcare through some pretty tumultuous times was good preparation, so in that sense, it’s not a surprise that I have a skill set that [Nunes] thinks can bring value,” Hill said. 

Hill said that President Nunes believed she could be a “unifying force” across the leadership teams at Cal Lutheran. 

“It’s such a privilege, and a bit humbling to think, ‘wow,’ you know, there’s a lot riding on this and it feels, it just feels like such a privilege to give back to a university where my roots are, and a university I believe in and care deeply about,” Hill said. “I just feel very honored to be partnering with [Nunes] and his cabinet to help right the ship, if you will.” 

Nunes said Cal Lutheran needs to do something “bold” in order to avoid future cuts, yet he does not believe that solely making cuts is the way to better the university’s current and future financial state. 

“If you cut more, it’s not going to help the student experience, and if you don’t have a good student experience, then who is gonna want to come here?” Nunes said. “If nobody wants to come here, now you’re in a death spiral. And that’s where cuts kinda take you.” 

Hill said she agreed with the president’s thought that focusing only on cuts will not set Cal Lutheran up for a more financially sound future. 

“If it’s just about finances, that’s where you get into a cut and slash-and-burn mode. We’re never going to succeed if all we focus on is where we can cut, cut, cut. We aren’t about ‘cut,’ we are about creating value,” she said. 

According to the Cal Lutheran website, the university’s mission statement reads: “The mission of the university is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice.” 

Nunes said he does not believe everyone at Cal Lutheran, from students to faculty members, understands what their role is in achieving the university’s mission; Nunes described this fact as “sad” and a “waste.” 

While Nunes said he personally believes in Cal Lutheran’s mission, and that the current mission statement is not going anywhere, he said the university needs to be more clear about “what our mission is” in order to differentiate Cal Lutheran in a crowded marketplace. 

“If you don’t know your role, then how can you contribute to the goal? That means we’ve got work to do around this mission and, candidly, the work starts with the Board of Regents, with each regent understanding the goal of the institution,” said Nunes. 

Hill said that defining what it means to be a Lutheran liberal arts and sciences university is key to improving the overall development of Cal Lutheran and creating a product that consumers find valuable. 

“The value of higher education has been called into question, the value of liberal arts has been called into question, and so, for the disruptive innovation group, it’s really asking then, ‘what does it mean to be a Lutheran liberal arts and sciences university, and how do we remain relevant?’” said Hill.

According to Hill, the task forces are still in a development phase and are currently attempting to define the problems that need to be solved. Hill said that the themes that currently stick out to her are mostly centered around Cal Lutheran’s brand and identity, and continuing to develop that brand into a product that consumers desire.  

Hill said that is a difficult time to be in higher education and believes unique questions need to be asked in order to improve Cal Lutheran’s current position.

“There’s no shortage of examples of organizations that did not ask those questions, that did not adapt appropriately to an evolving world, we don’t want to be like the Kodaks, or the Xerox’s, or the Blockbusters of the world who really saw who they were and who they served though a very narrow lens and didn’t expand their definition of themselves,” Hill said. 

Apart from the creation of these task forces and the appointment of Hill, President Nunes announced that Cal Lutheran received a four million dollar bequest estate gift from an anonymous donor. Nunes said the funds will be “unrestricted” and “used for what we need most.”

“I would like to see California Lutheran University raising more money for our students, a lot more,” Nunes said. 

Both Nunes and Hill said Cal Lutheran has a number of resources that still need to be utilized. Hill described Cal Lutheran as a “special place,” and said that the university needs to “believe in itself” instead of solely focusing on the “doom and gloom.” 

“I think we’ve got so many assets here. The campus is beautiful, the people on the campus are beautiful, we’ve got unused land, you know, we’ve got to figure out ways to not blow the opportunity that we’re in right now,” Nunes said. 

Hill said that while still in the development phase, the task forces do not have specific deliverables to announce. While in this development and defining phase, Hill said she is performing focus groups with faculty members, staff, students, and parents to define the problems and questions that need to be addressed as well as meeting with the two task forces every three weeks. For continuing updates on the Laureen Hill appointment and task force progress, visit cluecho.com.