Columbia president-elect pledged to make student engagement a priority and to help lead the college through a “healing process” following the fiscal challenges of the past several years.
“What sets us apart is the way our community has come together to face these challenges head on. It has demonstrated resilience, adaptability and I think, a shared commitment to the future of our college that is exciting,” Bolton said.
In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle on Monday, March 17, Bolton said that she is committed to transparency. “My goal is to make sure that we have the right tone and right culture where everyone feels respected, heard and that their contributions are valued.”
The former executive vice president and chief business officer at Georgia Institute of Technology, will be Columbia’s new president and CEO on July 1. She told the Chronicle that she plans to attend the annual Manifest Arts Festival and commencement in May.
“I am a person of no sudden moves unless they are critical and essential,” she told the Chronicle.
Bolton is the first woman in nearly 90 years and the first woman of color to lead the college, which is now a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Columbia’s student body is half BIPOC.
“To me, Columbia isn’t just a college, but it’s a place where students from all walks of life can find their voice, can hone in on their craft and really have an opportunity to turn their passions into careers,” Bolton said.
Bolton was the executive vice president and chief business officer at Georgia Tech from 2023 until she stepped down in early March. She will take over at Columbia on July 1 from interim President and CEO Jerry Tarrer who served in the role after former President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim left last summer after 13 years.
A presidential search for Kim’s replacement has been underway since the summer.
Asked if Tarrer would return to CFO, the position he also holds, Bolton said, “I would be confident to say it’s likely he will go back to being in the CFO role. As I onboard, there may be changes.”
“I would contend that it is not uncommon for individuals to transition when there are presidential changes, but most certainly, I am personally looking forward to getting to know and to work in partnership with the leaders that are in place,” Bolton said.
Tarrer welcomed Bolton in his statement to the Chronicle “with great enthusiasm” and looked forward to ” continue to work alongside her to ensure our legacy of producing creative industry leaders continues and is amplified.”
“I am honored to have served as Interim President for Columbia College Chicago, and I want to thank the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with this role. My goal during this time was not only to be a good steward for this institution but also position us on a path for growth. I am both humbled and inspired by our students, faculty, and staff and this experience has only deepened my love commitment to our community,” Tarrer said.
Bolton comes from a significantly larger and different institution than Columbia College. Georgia Tech is a public university with a fall enrollment of 20,592 undergraduate students. It is a premiere research institution with a graduation rate of more than 90 percent.
By comparison, Columbia is a small media arts college with a graduation rate of about 41 percent, according to the school’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
“I think we’re in a critical moment,” Bolton said. “There is no better place in higher education right now than Columbia College Chicago to help to set the model for how we will navigate our way through this.”
She comes at a time when Columbia is facing a $17 million deficit and declining enrollment, staff and faculty layoffs and an historic overhaul of academic programs that merged or eliminated nearly half of the school’s majors. Like all colleges and universities, Columbia is also facing threats to its DEI programs under the Trump administration.
Georgia Tech just announced that it would stop its DEI-related programs because of the Trump administration’s federal directives, the student newspaper, the Technique, reported.
In early March, Georgia state lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would also have cut state funding or state-administered federal funding for public schools or universities with DEI programs.
Around a third of Georgia Tech’s students are Asian, and its Hispanic population is less than 10 percent. Like Columbia, its faculty is majority white.
Trump’s attacks on colleges and universities come as all institutions face a “demographic cliff” this fall because of declining birth rates that followed the 2007 recession.
Columbia’s enrollment has been steadily declining since 2019, as the Chronicle previously reported. Before the pandemic, enrollment was 6,947, an increase from the year before.
“You have experienced challenging times,” Bolton said in the interview. She will be focused on “strategic enrollment growth,” she added, aligning industry with programs and renewing a commitment to student success.
“This is our time to come together and set a new model for what Columbia College Chicago will look like going forward,” she said.
Bolton said that she believes her role as president at the college is to amplify the importance and the necessity of creatives, regardless of the latitude of resources.
“I’ve been at institutions that are perceived as being well resourced,” Bolton said. “Oftentimes, I think what people don’t understand is there are always going to be challenges, regardless of the type of institution, there are always more needs than resources that are available.”
She said one of her priorities is strengthening industry and civic partnerships. “I am ready to hit the ground running with philanthropy and fundraising,” Bolton said. “We need to raise friends and raise funds.”
Bolton, a part-time faculty member in Georgia Tech’s business school, holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. She also has a doctorate in organizational psychology from Walden University and a master’s degree in corporate business from Florida International University, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She has held multiple leadership roles in higher education, including executive vice chancellor and chief administrative officer at Washington University, vice president and deputy chief operating officer at Tulane University and vice president at Tuskegee University, an HBCU.
She assumes the top role at a private college with an enrollment that dropped under 5,000 this spring semester. The college’s board has ordered the school to balance the budget by 2026, as the Chronicle previously reported.
Bolton said that during her time working in higher education over the past decade one thing she has found successful is engaging with students “early and often.”
“I know that no two institutions are the same. What I really want to know more than anything, is, how do Columbia College students want to be engaged?” Bolton said, “I can come with all the ideas in the world, but if it’s not engaging in a way that’s meaningful, then it doesn’t connect the same.”
Student Government Association President Jenna Davis said that she thinks that at this time the college needs a president who is open to criticism and new ideas.
“Obviously, we’re in a very difficult time right now, so someone that is able to adapt to the situation that we’re in and get us out of it,” Davis said. “We also need someone that is for the students, having a president that is present at different events, knowing who the student body is and what the students actually need is very important right now.”
Faculty Senate President Rojhat Avsar told the Chronicle in an email that the Faculty Senate is “ready to collaborate with the new president to advance the college” and hopes for an opportunity for faculty to meet Bolton soon.
“As we prepare the college for future challenges in the ever-changing landscape of higher education, effective communication will be essential,” Avsar said. “The Senate is committed to serving as the voice of the faculty and as a reliable, forward-looking advisory body to help maintain and enhance our distinct identity.”
During Kim’s time at the college, the deficit ballooned and enrollment plummeted. The deficit increased to $38 million after the historic seven-week part-time faculty strike in Fall 2023. Kim’s salary and compensation was more than $1.2 million, according to the last 990 filing from June 2024.
As part of its cost-cutting measures to address the budget gap, the college put the former presidential $2.7 million residence up for sale in November 2024. The house is still on the market.
Bolton told the Chronicle that the college will not be providing housing during her time as president but did say she was interested in living in the South Loop.
“I want to eat, sleep and breathe Columbia and I think the energy that comes out of this campus, that comes from you, our students and from the work that our faculty is doing I just want to be immersed in that,” Bolton said.
Bolton said that one of her “personal passions” is working with students and the community to “amplify the stories of who we are” so that the students can “create a new narrative in this moment.”
“I believe that there are things that we can do creatively to still remain true to who we are, while ensuring we are compliant with the laws of our federal government,” Bolton said. “Ultimately, there will be truths on campus that won’t change, and that is that we will embrace everyone.”
This story has been updated.
Copy edited by Matt Brady and Manuel Nocera
Resumen en Español:
La nueva presidenta y directora ejecutiva de Columbia College Chicago, Shantay Bolton, se ha comprometido a priorizar la participación estudiantil y a guiar a la institución a través de un “proceso de sanación” tras los problemas financieros y la disminución en la matrícula. Bolton, quien anteriormente se desempeñó como vicepresidenta ejecutiva y directora de negocios en Georgia Tech, asumirá su cargo el 1 de julio. En una entrevista destacó su compromiso con la transparencia y con garantizar que los estudiantes se sientan valorados y escuchados.
La presidenta de la Asociación de Gobierno Estudiantil, Jenna Davis, expresó su esperanza de que Bolton sea una líder abierta a nuevas ideas y comprometida activamente con los estudiantes. “Obviamente, estamos en un momento muy difícil en este momento, por lo que necesitamos a alguien que pueda adaptarse a la situación en la que estamos y sacarnos de ella”, dijo Davis. “También necesitamos a alguien que esté por y para los estudiantes, una presidenta que esté presente en diferentes eventos, que conozca al cuerpo estudiantil y comprenda lo que realmente necesitan los estudiantes en este momento”.
Bolton también abordó los desafíos que enfrenta la educación superior, incluidos los problemas financieros y las amenazas políticas a las iniciativas de diversidad, equidad e inclusión. A pesar de estos obstáculos, sigue siendo optimista sobre el futuro de Columbia y afirmó: “Este es nuestro momento para unirnos y establecer un nuevo modelo de lo que será Columbia College Chicago en el futuro”.
Resumen en Español por Doreen Abril Albuerne Rodriguez
Texto editado por Manuel Nocera
