by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Scripps College president Suzanne Keen has resigned after just eight months on the job.

“In conversation with Board leadership, I have made the decision to step down as president of Scripps College,” Keen wrote in a brief statement. “I am very sorry for the disappointment that this news causes.”

Keen wrote she was grateful for the short stint as Scripps’ president and that she “sorely missed teaching,” her “core vocation.”

“I look forward to participating in Scripps’ central mission after a sabbatical,” she wrote. “I greatly admire the students and faculty who make up the intellectual community at Scripps.”

Former Scripps College president Suzanne Keen. Photo/courtesy Scripps College

Amy Marcus-Newhall, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Scripps College since July 2010, will step in as acting president. The board of trustees appointed Marcus-Newhall acting president effective March 20.

She “brings more than 30 years of academic experience, institutional knowledge, and consortial relationships to this role,” read a statement from Scripps.

Marcus-Newhall previously served as interim president until Lara Tiedens’ appointment for the 2015-2016 academic year, and in 2021-2022 was acting president prior to Keen’s brief tenure. She is a professor of psychology and founding faculty member of Scripps College Academy, an academic enrichment program for middle and high school students in the greater Los Angeles area.

For more information visit scrippscollege.edu/president.