On Sept. 30, Scripps College announced that the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to extend President Amy Marcus-Newhall’s contract until June 2028, making her the 11th president of the college.
“My fellow Trustees and I are thrilled that the College will continue to benefit from her strong leadership through our Centennial year,” Board of Trustees Chair Laura Hockett ’85 said in an email to Scripps community members.
Two days later, Marcus-Newhall emailed the Scripps community, thanking them for their support, documenting past projects such as gaining funding for the Scripps Access Initiative and the opening of the Nucleus Science Center and announcing plans for the future.
“I look forward to many more victories before, during, and after our centennial, and I thank you for your confidence and support as I accept the privilege of serving you as the president of Scripps College through 2028,” the Oct. 2 email reads.
The email touched on proposed plans for the future, including her plan for the Centennial Plaza Project, which entails the construction of a new dance center following the purchase of the E. 10th Street property from Claremont Graduate University. According to the email, the dance center is set to be finished in the 2026-27 academic year.
“This endeavor captures the power and possibility of the Scripps community working together and embodies the most rewarding aspects of leading this institution,” she said in the email.
Previously, Marcus-Newhall served as Scripps’ vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty from 2010 until 2023, most recently serving as interim vice president following Suzanne Keen’s resignation.
Scripps Associated Students (SAS) Vice President of Student Affairs Simran Sethi SC ’26 noted Keen’s resignation when describing her lack of surprise by Marcus-Newhall’s tenure extension.
“She’s been very present with the community since she was just elected as an interim president, whereas like Suzanne Keen, I don’t think I saw her face at all my freshman year,” Sethi said. “[Marcus-Newhall] had a lot more of a presence, [would] host office hours, and people would show up.”
SAS President Melina Durre SC ’25 said her initial reaction to the announcement was positive, given the college’s previous problems with administrative turnover.
“If we have a member of the administration that wants to stay, in my opinion, it can only benefit us because she has that institutional knowledge and has been here for so long,” Durre said. “So how could that possibly really be negative?”
But Marcus-Newhall found herself almost immediately facing backlash from students after announcing the closing of the Scripps Motley Coffeehouse in an email just four days later. The announcement drew criticism from student groups amidst calls for reopening.
“It was just a very fast turnover from getting that tenure position to making this decision,” Geeta Karlcut SC ’26, SAS’s co-vice president of finance, said. “It just seemed that sometimes her actions, or the actions of admin and Scripps as a whole kind of speak louder than the words that they put out.”
Durre noted the impact the Motley announcement will continue to have on Marcus-Newhall’s presidency.
“This is something that’s going to be a stain forever,” Durre said. “The freshmen here will remember it. When I graduate, I’ll remember it. So it’s really hard to come back from that. “
Marcus-Newhall did not respond to an inquiry from TSL.
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