Money Talked – Mathew Johnson Made a Fortune as He Cut Positions and Hired New Staff – Paid His Defenders Very Well

Written by John Face
Editorial
October 10, 2023

Former Albion College President Mathew Johnson was a week away from making half a million dollars as President of Albion College, a 1300-student college for the calendar year of 2021. Everyone in Albion, from staff to students to community residents, knew Albion College had fallen on tough financial times. So when the Board of Trustees Chair Mike Harrington, now a former Board member, flew out east to meet Johnson when some on his search committee had reservations about hiring him, at some point, the Board decided not only to hire him with serious questions in his background, but to pay the candidate who had absolutely no real experience leading a college an almost grotesque amount of money.

When the Board released Johnson in late December of 2021, he took a once proud institution and nearly bankrupted it in 18 months. I had several parents reach out to me about their students on whether Albion College was going to close. Johnson failed to raise money of any importance, spending millions on his pet projects while he was supposed to be dealing with budget deficits. He dealt with them in the Johnson way, spending money and creating jobs that had no real purpose at a school other than to surround himself with lackeys who would tell the king how pretty he and his robes were.

For example, proof of this was the money he paid to his chief of staff, Kelly Finn. Finn was making $108,000+ acting as, what many employees said, his hatchet. Finn made more than almost all professors at the school. Again, it is a college with around 1300 students. College insiders said she and a small group appear to have been well paid as the college struggled. One needs help to grasp paying Leroy Wright, the Vice President for Student Development, just over $217,000, when current President Wayne Webster openly admits the college has a shortfall of at least 14 million dollars.

When Wright was hired by then Albion College President Mauri Ditzler in 2019, there were already financial strains on the college. Looking at some of the current senior staff wages, this reporter can easily spot a few million that could be cut from the budget. “Schools” and “Departments” created by Johnson and a couple by Ditzler should all be eliminated, along with the people they hired.

Fear of staff is that starting in January, cuts will come, and instead of the top staff, it will be the people who teach students and do the real work on campus. Current President Webster has said he plans on eliminating the deficit by way of retirement attrition and not filling empty positions. His plans also include trying to increase enrollment. Though Webster says he doesn’t want to lay off people, he has made little guarantees after the new year.

Albion College suffers from severe cash shortages, but hope is still possible. President Webster brings a background in raising money and has already excited his staff, pushing themselves to find ways to bring in the capital. Students, administrative staff, and professors widely like him. He comes from The College of Wooster, where one former colleague said, “Wayne can raise money and leads by example. He is the perfect fit for Albion; Wooster lost, Albion won this battle”. City Watch feels it’s fair to give Webster the benefit of the doubt. Let’s all step up and help him. Hell if anyone deserves a half million bucks to run the college it would be him. I mean he actually has done this kind of work before. But hey, I am not on the Board of Trustees.

Oh, I want to tell you what my answer was to those parents was then, and still today. Albion College will survive. Albion College is a top Liberal Arts school and will continue to attract the best students and athletes from around the country. Money is tight but your student will not feel the pain.

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