Dr. Michael Hill, who announced his resignation Tuesday as Chautauqua Institution president, speaks during a gathering at the institution. Submitted photo

Dr. Michael Hill, Chautauqua Institution’s president for the past eight years, is resigning effective May 31.

Hill made the announcement in a joint statement with Candace L. Maxwell, chairwoman of the institution’s Board of Trustees, on Tuesday.

“My eight-plus years in service to Chautauqua have been among the most rewarding and challenging of my career,” Hill said. “…it has been the honor of a lifetime to work alongside the talented Chautauqua team to advance our mission.”

Hill said he is leaving his post as institution president to accept the position of president at Randolph-Macon College. He will center his attention in his remaining months at Chautauqua on facilitating a smooth leadership transition and supporting staff in preparations for the 2025 Summer Assembly.

“Amid successes and challenges alike, Michael has represented this institution with exemplary dignity and integrity, always with an unwavering focus on positioning Chautauqua to continue to thrive in the decades ahead. We are grateful for his service and commitment,” Maxwell said.

While Hill’s resignation is a surprise outside the institution’s gates, there has been a concerted movement by some institution members to force Hill to resign. Online news sources inside the institution have been publishing letters from institution residents for weeks calling on new leadership. As The Post-Journal reported in 2023, institution resident Rick Reiser and others have been unhappy with a growing focus by Hill and other institution officials on Chautauqua Lake while funding for opera and fine arts programs were cut.

There was also controversy inside the gates over comments by Rafia Khader, who was then the institution’s director of religion programs, calling Oct. 7 a momentous day while refusing to condemn Hamas. The comments and ensuing controversy upset many Jewish residents inside the institution. Khader ultimately resigned her position at Chautauqua Institution in mid-February.

Reiser and Stephen Glinick, publisher of the Chautauqua Gadfly, an online news source that has been publishing letters from Chautauqua Institution residents who want to speak candidly about institution affairs, were among those who raised concerns about Khader’s comments as well as what they describe as increasingly shaky finances in the institution. Minutes of the December 9, 2024, Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees state that the institution’s five-year proforma for 2026 and beyond can’t be achieved within the institution’s current business model, with management recommending the hiring of an external consultant to evaluate Chautauqua Institution’s operating model, staffing and other structures needed to support it. Hill, according to the minutes, said during the meeting that the institution’s 2025 budget as presented represents many difficult decisions, and the process of creating the budget made it clear to him the institution’s current operating model is unsustainable in the long run. He emphasized that now is the time to make appropriate changes to ensure that Chautauqua remains financially sustainable, according to the minutes.

“Chautauqua is resilient,” Glinick wrote in an editorial in the Gadfly on Friday. “We have bounced back from bankruptcy and occasional suboptimal presidents. We have tolerated an extremely bumpy road these past few years, filled with dissension. We can certainly navigate our way through a season with interim leadership. But we can no longer afford to do it with President Hill.”

Maxwell credited Hill for numerous accomplishments, including curating eight successful Summer Assembly programs serving some 100,000 patrons annually and leading the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in the institution’s history, which has generated more than $145 million to date toward a goal of $150 million by June 2026.

Maxwell also called out Hill’s leadership in bringing The Jefferson Project to Chautauqua County to support science-based solutions for the conservation of Chautauqua Lake. Hill raised some $7 million to support The Jefferson Project’s research efforts.

Hill was appointed by the RMC Board of Trustees following a nationwide search by a presidential search committee made up of trustees, faculty, staff, and students. Hill was a first-generation graduate of St. Bonaventure University and served on the university’s Board of Trustees. He earned a master’s degree in arts and cultural management from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He has lectured frequently on nonprofit management to international audiences, trade organizations, and as a visiting lecturer for Georgetown University. He is a member of the Robert H. Jackson Center Board of Directors and a member of the Leadership Network of the American Enterprise Institute.