ETSU Trustees note enrollment growth, Noland comments on faculty suspensions

East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees officials celebrated "record-breaking" enrollment during discussions at Friday's quarterly board meeting. According to new official figures, the university achieved record-breaking enrollment for the fall semester as expected by campus leaders, welcoming 2,284 new students as part of this year's incoming class. Officials said this figure marks the largest first-year class in ETSU history "by far." ETSU President Brian Noland said ETSU celebrated historic enrollment in fall 2023 when 2,141 students enrolled, before the fall 2024 class missed the record by just three students. "These [new] historic enrollment numbers reflect the confidence students and families have in ETSU's ability to deliver exceptional education at an outstanding value," Noland said. ETSU leaders said recent increases in enrollment align with the university's strategic plan to achieve sustainable growth through expanding academic programs, affordability and demonstrating strong post-graduation outcomes. In other business, Noland provided officials with an overview of the main challenges facing the university and "risk drivers facing higher education" generally today, with "student activism risks" being among the top concerns, along with the "politicization of higher education" in today's political climate under President Donald Trump. "Those are [among] the factors that are swirling across Americans' higher education system," he said. Noland's comments come shortly after the university placed two professors on administrative leave for social media statements relating to the death of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing activist and influencer, who was killed on Wednesday during a debate event at Utah Valley University. Andrew Herrmann, a communication professor, was suspended on Thursday after pointing out that Kirk— an outspoken conservative critic of gun control and supporter of Trump — "reaped what he sowed" under another Facebook user's post expressing sympathy for Kirk's family. Another professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Russell Brown, was also suspended for comments relating to the incident. Herrmann has since publicly apologized on social media. Noland said the two cases will be reviewed in detail but did not provide a timeline on the review process. "There were [other] universities that had employees that were terminated for those [types of] actions. Those employees were staff. The protections of faculty through our tenure and promotion process afford a detailed review, and that is the review that will begin in due speed," he told the Press after Friday's meeting, adding that faculty members' comments were "deeply troubling and concerning." Noland declined to provide additional details about the two suspensions. "I can't altogether comment on a personnel matter, because it is a process that will unfold, but the university will take this seriously," he said. "I am deeply remorseful and regretful of any pain that they would have caused, particularly to a family who lost their father."