In response to Larry Snyder’s resignation as dean of Potter College, students gathered outside of Wetherby Administration Building Wednesday afternoon to protest.
Provost Terry Ballman announced Tuesday that Snyder would be resigning as dean of Potter College, effective Wednesday.
Holding signs with statements saying “I stand with Dean Snyder” and “students have voices too” and singing a “freedom song,” the protestors said they planned to stay outside until administrators left the building and return to continue the protests the next day.
Many of the students present were from departments within Potter College, but planned on notifying friends and other students in the college, as well as WKU students in general to join the protest.
Lauren Hanson, a senior theater major from Brandenburg, said she decided to protest after hearing of Snyder’s resignation.
“We feel that Larry Snyder has a decades-long reputation of being an excellent dean, and he was unfairly forced to resign because he wouldn’t cow down to the Provost,” Hanson said. “We value Potter College and are hypervigilant to figures of authority in the university who don’t.”
Cavan Hendron, a musical theater student from Lexington, said he initially heard about Snyder’s resignation from students on the Dean’s Council. He said Snyder was extremely supportive of the theater department and was often seen in the audience during their shows.
“If I’m paying tuition to be in college, then I want to have people that I can trust and support me as a student,” Hendron said.
Josh Knight, a Master’s of Public Administration student from Owensboro, said he had heard the resignation wasn’t voluntary and learned about the protest from a friend.
“If it is the case that he was basically forced out, I don’t like the idea of them not being forthcoming with that,” Knight said. “I’d rather the university come out and say why and what happened if that is actually what happened.”