By Jordan Barela 

The campus is starting to buzz with the news that VSU’s top official is calling it quits.

In an email sent out Thursday afternoon, VSU President William McKinney announced his resignation, effective July 1.

Dr. McKinney did not give a reason for his resignation; instead, he listed the improvements that were made at VSU while he was president.

SGA President Tyler Barker said that he was devastated over Dr. McKinney’s resignation.

“The most important thing now is that we stay unified as a campus and remain proactive,” Barker said.

Faculty senate President Michael Noll said he didn’t see the resignation coming.

“I have to admit that the news of Dr. McKinney’s resignation did come as a surprise,” Dr. Noll said. “While the recent report of the faculty senate executive committee highlighted a number of issues we have to address at VSU, I was not expecting this.”

The report Dr. Noll is referring to listed numerous complaints the faculty had against the administration, which included sudden firings, the restructuring of departments, budget cuts and decreased enrollment at VSU. The report was created after some members of the faculty senate called for a no-confidence vote on Dr. McKinney and other top administrators.

“Times like these call for all of us to work together and stand united,” Dr. Noll said.

Dr. McKinney was VSU’s president for three years. During his presidency, he started the capital campaign “Invest. Ignite. Inspire.” This campaign has a $53.25 million dollar target fund. In the first eight months, the campaign has raised over 30 million dollars.

“Over the course of the last three years, we have accomplished a great many things,” Dr. McKinney said in his email. “By every reasonable metric, Valdosta State is a university on the rise. Together we have set a course for VSU that, in many ways, helps to secure its future.”