In early November, we started hearing ominous rumblings out of UC Hastings College of the Law. We received reports of financial challenges (stemming in part from declining enrollment and tuition revenue), an inadequate endowment, staff defections and reductions (on top of the 2012 cuts), disaffected donors, and faculty unhappy with the school’s leader, Dean and Chancellor Frank H. Wu.

We brought these issues up with Dean Wu and spoke with him by phone earlier this month. He’s a charismatic and persuasive speaker — there’s a reason he’s one of the most influential people in legal education — and he did an excellent job refuting each of the points we raised. He also pointed out, responding to critics of his leadership, that his contract as dean got renewed by unanimous approval just last year.

So we were surprised to hear further rumblings this morning of Dean Wu possibly stepping down as UC Hastings Law’s leader. Why would he depart so soon after being renewed as dean, with several years left on his term?

We reached out to Dean Wu this morning and didn’t hear back. But tonight the following message went out to the UC Hastings Law community:

Frank H. Wu announced today that he will step down as Chancellor and Dean of UC Hastings on January 1, 2016…. “The Board of Directors is deeply grateful to Dean Wu for his extraordinary service,” said Board Chair Tom Gede. “Frank has been a change agent for UC Hastings, someone whose innovative ideas, will for decisive action, and passion for progress have led the school through a fundamentally challenging time in the history of legal education and the legal marketplace. His leadership was most visible in early action by UC Hastings to address marketplace changes for legal education, including a 25% class size reduction, while holding in-state enrollment fees constant for four years and reducing out-of-state tuition charges.”

What’s behind Dean Wu’s departure? The statement doesn’t say much:

Wu is leaving office to return to teaching full-time and finish his long-awaited book on the Vincent Chin case. “Change is good, and this is a good time for it,” he said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to play a role in advancing UC Hastings. These are challenging times, and UC Hastings has great students, faculty, staff, alumni who will ensure the institution continues to adapt and thrive for generations to come. I thank my colleagues for their camaraderie, and the Board of Directors for their constant support.”

There must be more to this story, no? Feel free to reach out to us with information by email or by text message (646-820-8477).

Good luck to Dean Wu as he leaves administration to return to the classroom full-time. He’s full of interesting insights — see his past writing on Above the Law for examples — and his students will surely enjoy receiving his undivided attention.

And Dean Wu will probably enjoy this next stage of his life too. Being a law school dean isn’t much fun these days.

UPDATE (11/20/2015, 3:45 p.m.): On the financial state of UC Hastings College of the Law, Moody’s recently affirmed the school’s A2 issuer and bond ratings, citing “strong cash and investments that provide Hastings with a healthy cushion for operations and debt, and good liquidity.” It did revise the outlook to “negative,” but based on familiar factors that apply to many law schools across the land: “continued pressure on student demand and operations, with use of reserves to fund additional tuition discounting to help stabilize enrollment.”

(Flip to the next page for the complete official announcement.)