Louise Feroe, who has been at Mercy College since 1982, became its interim president in 2004 and was named officially to the post in 2006, announced today she’s stepping down.

Feroe was provost when college President Lucie Lapovsky announced she was pursuing other challenges in 2004, after five years at the helm.

Mercy operates campuses in the Bronx, Dobbs Ferry, Manhattan, White Plains and Yorktown. It also offers courses online. Enrollment is about 9,500 students. Mercy offers undergraduate and graduate programs in business, social sciences, health professions, education, computer sciences and the liberal arts.

Times have been tight for the college in the past several years.

Back in 2005, its leaders tied their salary increases to enrollment growth after incurring a $5.1 million operating deficit in 2002, running up $25 million in debt from years of building projects and having its bond rating downgraded to “speculative” in March 2004. In a controversial “restructuring” that resulted in a reduction of about 25 positions in 2005, the college laid off 70 employees, rehiring and retraining many of them in a plan to centralize operations and streamline student services.

Mercy’s Board of Trustees will begin a national search for Dr. Feroe’s successor, according to the press release issued this afternoon.

The news isn’t up on the college’s website yet, so here’s the full text of the press release:

Mercy College President Louise H. Feroe to Step Down

Dobbs Ferry, NY—After almost four years as president of Mercy College, Dr. Louise H. Feroe announced today that she has resigned her position, effective June 30, 2008, to pursue other challenges. The College’s Board of Trustees will begin a national search for Dr. Feroe’s successor.

“Having achieved much of the agenda I set out to accomplish when I accepted the presidency, I believe it is now an apt time for me to step aside, ending a more than 20-year career at Mercy, and pursue new challenges, knowing that I leave behind an institution well positioned for the future.�

During Dr. Feroe’s presidency, the College strengthened its academic profile, with retention and graduation rates improving dramatically; moved from deficit budgets to surpluses capable of supporting its future capital projects; increased the value of the College’s endowment; established a program of outreach to alumni and other supporters; and reinvested in an active student affairs program. During this period the College also received several prestigious grants that will enhance students’ learning experiences.

“President Feroe devoted herself to Mercy College for more than two decades,� said Richard E. French, Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees. “She believes deeply in the transformative power of education and led the College with a strong personal and professional integrity. We are grateful to Dr. Feroe for her leadership and for her abiding commitment to Mercy’s students.�

Dr. Feroe, who received her education at the New School for Social Research, came to Mercy in 1982 as an adjunct faculty member and joined the College full-time in 1987. Prior to being named president in 2004, she held positions as provost and dean for academic administration and supervised the higher education program for incarcerated adults. Her research focuses on ethical theory and practice, particularly professional ethics and the ethics of research.

“It has been my privilege to be able to serve as president of Mercy College, a place where we strive to achieve an extraordinary mission of individual and social transformation,� said Dr. Feroe. “Mercy has a very bright future before it. I will watch with great interest as this institution extends and builds upon its great legacy and will remember with pride and affection the years I spent here.�