University of the District of Columbia President William L. Pollard unexpectedly resigned at a board of trustees’ meeting Tuesday, ending a five-year tenure. Despite tensions with the board over stagnant fundraising and the slow pace of facility improvements, board chairman James W. Dyke Jr. had talked publicly in recent months about extending Pollard’s contract, which expires July 1. Nevertheless, it appears that a plurality of board members wanted a fresh start.

“Dr. Pollard’s contributions have played an important role in bringing the university to a level of stability and advancement,” said Dyke in a statement. “On behalf of the entire board of trustees, we are grateful to Dr. Pollard for his energy and his impact on the District of Columbia, its students and its citizens. We wish him success on this new phase of his career.”

UDC recently released a list of achievements during Pollard’s tenure, including full accreditation with commendation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, as well as American Bar Association accreditation for the David A. Clarke School of Law.

Those are major milestones, given the turmoil caused in the 1990s when the D.C. Financial Control Board, created by the U.S. Congress to reverse the city’s deep financial troubles, ordered UDC leaders to close an $18.2 million budget gap by September 1997. That action effectively cut UDC’s operating budget in half and forced the school to lay off 125 professors — an unprecedented act in modern-day public higher education.

However, questions have been raised concerning the amount of resources Pollard has directed towards administrative salaries versus classroom-level expenditures. One of his most contentious hires was of provost Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, a family friend who came onboard in 2003 at a $137,000 annual salary, a year after she helped Pollard land the UDC presidency. Though Reuben-Cooke had a law degree, she lacked a doctorate, widely considered mandatory for the chief academic officer of any university.