After seven years and five months leading Virginia Union University and having a campus building named in his honor, Dr. Claude G. Perkins is ready to retire.

VUU announced Dr. Perkins, 74, would take a yearlong paid sabbatical beginning July 1. His contract expires in July 2017.

The announcement of the planned departure of the university’s 12th president came Monday, just two days after Dr. Perkins presided over the 2016 commencement ceremonies and a year after he guided the school through the celebration of its 150th anniversary.

Dr. Perkins will remain president during the sabbatical, although he would be on call to consult with an interim chief operating officer who is expected to be named before his leave starts.

He already told board members he would not seek renewal of his contract, essentially ensuring a new president within 12 months.

Dr. Perkins leaves VUU with glowing praise from the board, which is not shared universally by the students. He is credited with restoring luster to the university that had been struggling when he was named interim president in late January 2009, succeeding Dr. Belinda Anderson.

Among other things, he increased enrollment, boosting the student population to record levels of 1,800 undergraduate and graduate enrollees at a time when other historically black schools continue to be challenged by shrinking enrollment.

“Dr. Perkins’ work at Virginia Union has been truly transformative,” said Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, chairman the VUU Board of Trustees of the private, Baptist-affiliated school that traces its roots to the end of the Civil War.

“We welcome this period to establish a transition while we have the benefit of his experience and input,” Dr. Richardson said.

Dr. Richardson said the board plans to have the interim COO in place within six weeks and will then begin a search “to match new leadership with the vision for the school.”

Along with raising enrollment, Dr. Perkins has made more than $30 million in campus improvements, including construction of the first new residential facility on the campus in the last 45 years that bears his name.

But there is far more to be done, according to a faction of students who went public with their concerns in a petition on change.org that included a call for Dr. Perkins’ ouster.

First posted a few weeks ago, the petition drew 342 signatures and calls for “a better leader” in citing problems with dorms.

“We are living under terrible conditions — from mold to no hot water for weeks at a time and most importantly (bad) food (in the cafeteria),” the petition states.

The petitioners also alleged a “misappropriation of funds,” although no specifics were offered.

The university has not publicly acknowledged nor responded to the petition, nor has Dr. Perkins. The students who posted the petition did not respond to Free Press requests for additional information.

VUU has changed under Dr. Perkins, from having a fenced campus to offering its first graduate program outside the School of Theology — a master’s program that offers a degree in curriculum and instruction in education.

He also added a new fine arts program, revived the band and choir and launched the Center for the Study of the Urban Child, the Center for International Studies and the Center for Small Business Development. 

Dr. Perkins also incorporated community service into the undergraduate curriculum, ensuring students, particularly scholarship winners, are involved as volunteers in the community as part of the school’s Christian mission.

The school also awarded $25 million in scholarships during Dr. Perkins’ tenure, part of which came from a big-ticket annual scholarship gala that he began. He also led a successful $30 million fundraising campaign for the school.

He created a partnership with the SunTrust Foundation that will bring a financial literary program on campus for VUU students, parents and Richmond area residents.

Dr. Perkins came to VUU from Albany State University in Georgia, where he served as dean of the graduate school, associate vice president for academic affairs and a professor.

He previously served as a professor and founder of the Center for Educational Leadership at Clarion University in Pennsylvania.

A graduate of Mississippi Valley State University who later earned graduate degrees from Purdue and Ohio State universities, Dr. Perkins spent much of his career in public schools, including 10 years as a deputy and as an associate superintendent for Richmond Public Schools.

He also served as superintendent of schools in Kansas City, Mo., and as superintendent for schools in Las Vegas-Clark County, Nev., and later as Nevada state secretary of commerce. He was so well regarded that an elementary school in North Las Vegas is named for him.