St. Edward’s president resigns, new leader to start this summer

St. Edward’s University President Montserrat “Montse” Fuentes will step down this summer after five years in office, she announced Tuesday night in an email to students, faculty and staff.

Fuentes, the first Hispanic president of the private, small Catholic university, said she will leave her post this summer after “deep reflection, prayer and heartfelt gratitude.” She did not give a reason for her resignation but said serving as president has been “one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Under her leadership, St. Edward’s University added a School of Health Sciences, expanded its athletics and launched a strategic plan recommitting the campus to inclusivity and Holy Cross values. 

But her tenure at the South Austin university was at times turbulent. In 2024, faculty passed a no confidence vote against Fuentes for “grave” concerns over transparency and shared governance after she initially refused to allow a pride flag to hang at a campus coffee shop.

The university’s board president, Linus Akanoh, who was not president at the time of the no confidence vote, said in an email Tuesday night to Hilltoppers that the school would hire a search firm to find an interim president. That temporary leader will serve no more than two years as the board conducts a national search for a permanent new president, Akanoh said.

“This transition represents a consequential chapter in the University’s 140-year history,” Akanoh wrote. “The Board approaches this responsibility with clarity of intent, unwavering commitment to our Holy Cross mission, and a deep sense of stewardship for an institution entrusted to our care.”

Fuentes, who will go on sabbatical starting July 1, succeeded former President George Martin, who retired after 21 years at the university. Trustees selected Fuentes unanimously after a national search “because of her deep knowledge of higher education and her shared commitment to social justice and the Holy Cross mission of educating the heart and mind,” college officials said in a news release at the time.

A former researcher and professor of statistics, Fuentes entered academia after being the first in her family to attend college. She is originally from Spain and immigrated to the United States to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago. Fuentes served in several administrative roles before coming to Austin, including as dean of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University and executive vice president and provost at the University of Iowa.

Fuentes served a typical term for a university president but leaves at a time small private universities battle increasing pressures to diversify themselves from competitors and maintain enrollment. Private, small universities have faced rising financial pressures and enrollment challenges nationwide. Sixteen such schools closed last year.

St. Edward’s University lost funding when the Trump administration cut support for Hispanic Serving Institutions. It has struggled to maintain enrollment since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Fall 2014, St. Edward’s had 3,587 undergraduate students. In 2024, enrollment had dipped to 2,499 students, according to U.S. News & World Reports. The college did not publish enrollment numbers in 2024 or 2025, but officials said in a news release that 2024 enrollment was up 11% from 2021.

Fuentes said student retention has improved under her watch. Enrollment of students from underserved backgrounds grew this year, and the university has invested in more ways to support students at-risk of dropping out.

More than 75% of students enrolled at the university are people of color, and more than 44% are first-generation college students, the college said. 

In her Tuesday letter to campus, Fuentes said the school’s growth in high-demand areas like nursing position it as “a vital contributor to the well being of Austin and beyond.” She previously said she hoped St. Edward’s could be known as a hub of academic excellence and a key community partner. Since then, the university has created workforce partnerships and a student transfer pipeline with Austin Community College as part of its commitment to serving Texas.

“When we began this journey, we set a bold aspiration to become a destination for a more just world,” Fuentes wrote. “Because of your dedication and belief in what St. Edward’s can be, that aspiration became reality.”

The university also rose in national rankings and prestige under Fuentes’ leadership: U.S. News & World Reports ranked the university as the fifth best regional university in the west and third for best value schools in the west in 2026.

But “more importantly,” she told campus, she is proud of the culture she’s leaving at St. Edward’s University.

After the vote of no confidence, which Fuentes said at the time reflected “misunderstandings” and concerns that were “not factual,” Fuentes worked to improve communication on campus and engage faculty more in university discussions. She allowed the Pride flag to hang in the coffee shop and established an Inclusive Symbols and Actions Task Force to identify more ways to support diverse students.

“We strengthened who we are,” Fuentes said. “We cultivated a culture grounded in dignity, belonging, accountability and shared responsibility.”

St. Edward’s University pointed to the emails sent Tuesday when asked for comment.

This report has been updated with details about Fuentes’ tenure at St. Edward’s University.