A growing number of alumnae believe that Wells College is in crisis due to the president's faulty leadership. Open debate, the heart of the college's educational value system, has been lost. Poor decisions appear to have been made without expertise or effort to reach consensus among faculty, alumnae, staff and students.

For example, during the tenure of the current president,

• The Board admitted men to Wells, citing financial straits. Yet by going co-ed, Wells gave up a nearly $15 million endowed trust which in the past generated over $500,000 a year for student support.
  
  
• Student confidence in the school plummeted. In 1995, 75% of the senior class contributed to the annual fund, but in 2003 only 18% did so.
  
  
• Alumnae giving dropped dramatically. The '94-95 annual fund enjoyed 52% participation from all alumnae. By '02-03, participation had fallen to 32%.
  
  
• The coed decision was made without competent administrators first addressing the underlying problems: off-target marketing, inept admissions effort, underfunded academics, unfilled tenure-track positions, inappropriate priorities and fiscal mismanagement.
  
  
• The college lost its competitive edge as academic programs were cut or neglected against the advice of the faculty. In 2003, Wells fell to the bottom of the college rankings published by US News & World Report.