St. John’s College moved to consolidate leadership across its Annapolis, Maryland and Santa Fe, New Mexico campuses, after its governing board voted to roll the separate campus presidencies into one collegewide presidency. The governing board voted over the weekend, ending a model that dated to 1986. J. Walter Sterling, who has led the Santa Fe campus since July 2024 and served as interim collegewide president since June 2025, will take on the combined role. The college said it anticipates launching a search for the permanent position and emphasized cost reduction as a key reason for the consolidation. St. John’s disclosed ongoing fiscal pressure, including layoffs and drawing on endowment resources to cover a $10 million deficit, alongside expectations of anticipated enrollment declines. The governance change underscores how enrollment variability and operating costs are pushing small selective institutions to restructure leadership and operations to preserve academic and operational capacity.