EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series looking at what Northeast Ohio communities, institutions and agencies experienced in 2024 and what is facing them in 2025. It was a year of transition for Lakeland Community College in 2024. However, President Sunil Ahuja, hired last May, believes the school, which he has described as an “important institution,” is taking vital steps to ensure its viability. Through a series of sweeping layoffs, financial woes, lower enrollments, overstaffing, an empty building, and a performance audit issued from State Auditor Keith Faber’s office last April, Ahuja noted that the college and its board are proactively moving forward. 2024 at a glance Ahuja, Lakeland’s sixth president, took over for Morris Beverage Jr. in the spring. Beverage announced his resignation in a letter to faculty April 1 ahead of his planned Aug. 15 retirement. A 1974 graduate of Lakeland, Beverage later served as the college’s treasurer and chief fiscal officer for nearly 11 years before being named president in 2001. Since he officially assumed the role in May, Ahuja has stated that his first, major step was to balance the budget, which, he added, for years, hadn’t been the case. And during the last seven months, he emphasized that his goal hasn’t changed. Enrollment, financial outlook “Of course, it remains a priority,” Ahuja said, “as the college has worked on, this past summer, (the) reorganization and personnel decisions, and that was a big step, about $1.5 million-plus (of a reported deficit of about $3 million), in terms of cost reduction with top-level positions, toward a balanced budget. “Conversely, a small part of what we were able to do was to make some investments in mid-level staffing positions, primarily toward student-support-services areas,” he added. “In terms of enrollment, we were kind of bleeding, calls were going unanswered, and for us to staff critical areas of need for enrollment, and the retention of students as the semester went on, this became another investment area.” Ahuja asserted that the college’s path hasn’t been about “just cutting and cutting” positions, top to bottom, but, rather, “strategically investing in places where there is growth potential and opportunity, through a full range of things, mainly programs and personnel.” He added that Lakeland continues to analyze its budget very carefully, regularly monitoring revenues and expenses, both of which have been running ahead. “We’re spending less than what we did last year, while, at the same time, bringing in more than we did last year….and one of the changes has been providing the board with quarterly updates on the balance sheet,” Ahuja said. “So, we are in good shape for this year’s budget, probably ahead of target, in terms of where we need to be and that’s going to change moving forward.” State of the College Ahuja noted that a recent State of the College address delineated data, in terms of enrollment and programming, information that was not typically, readily, available to the campus. “This is important, to share this information, to be transparent, too, with the external community,” he said. “For a long time, it seems this type of information was not shared with the external community, either, and, for us, as a taxpayer- and Lake County-supported public college, we want to be transparent. “That (address) was a major project aimed at taking stock, and inventory, of where the college is….it was important, in my first months, to have some kind of current benchmarks regarding where we are and where we are moving in the future.” He said he’s also working with the board and the campus on “mid-range planning,” which has produced the development of “key performance indicators,” in mind and recommended by the recent audit, to proactively, and operationally manage the college. “The board recently, officially approved these indicators in the categories of finances, enrollment, workforce development, facilities and philanthropy, all of which are tied to where we want to be in three years,” Ahuja added. “To date, we have 4,431 students and, by 2027, our goal is to get to 4,800 or 4,850. We have targets for retention and completion and community education. “In 2027, Lakeland will be 60 years old, so this all is part of our strategic theme, all of which is connected to the sustainability of the college, academically, and so on.” A major project, Ahuja lauded, is Lakeland’s Engineering Building Project which has completed its first phase. Phases II and III, he added, are estimated to wrap by fall, if not late summer. “That building will be a beautiful upgrade very directly related to workforce development, notably, welding, construction and manufacturing and technology programs,” he said. “And we are performing data-based reviews of all of our programs, as we have to be strategic and selective. And I don’t mean in admissions — we’re an open-access institution, but selective in what we do, economically and what’s best for the future.” Another “academic pillar,” Ahuja detailed, is the school’s health care curriculum, with nursing still standing as the primary program. He added that the college working on a registered nurse with a bachelor of science degree, which would be a first for Lakeland, and hopes to complete the development of the coursework by the fall. “Health care studies not only remain a big factor at Lakeland but in Northeast Ohio,” Ahuja said. Holden University Center The Holden University Center, Ahuja added, has been sold to Signature Health for $8 million, with $2 million in down payment. There’s a five-year option, he said, with the lease-purchase agreement. The 40,000-square-foot facility, bought by the school in 2014 for $13.5 million, and financed through bonds, is no longer in use and has sat vacant for months. Ahuja and other college officials recently went before the Lake County commissioners who unanimously approved the re-issuance of bonds not to exceed $17,775,000 (now outstanding in the principal amount of $14,475,000) to refund a prior issue of general receipts bonds. According to the board, the bonds are special obligations of the college and will not constitute a debt or pledge of faith and credit or the taxing power of the college or county. “We are just in a couple of last legal steps in the process,” Ahuja said, noting the Signature’s recent letter of intent. “And we’ve been working on a purchase-and-sale agreement….we anticipate a transaction close early this year.” Holden, Ahuja added, was a major element the state instructed the college to address. “This, too, was a primary priority when I started and I’m glad we’re able to wrap it up pretty soon,” he said, emphasizing that the center’s programs and partnerships with several four-year institutions are still available. “Part of this, also, came about during pandemic and post-pandemic life, as more students were taking classes online rather than coming to campus, so use of the building became less and less as compared to pre-pandemic life.” While more work remains, Ahuja said Lakeland is, and remains, a force in Lake County. “It is a place where anyone can start their higher education as a gateway to go on to do other things,” he added. “That’s our role. We’ve done a lot in the last seven months, obviously, and, again, I view this in different phases, but longer-term planning is coming. “This is an important institution and I want to ensure it remains strong forever.”