CLARION — Clarion University’s president is stepping down at the end of the next academic year.

Karen Whitney has been president of the state-owned school for eight years. The school has about 5,200 students.

The school is one of several in the 14-school State System of Higher Education that’s struggling with declining enrollment. Clarion’s enrollment has dropped 29 percent since 2010.

Whitney is the longest-tenured president in the state system. The resignation announced Monday is effective June 30, 2018.

“I am proud of the thousands of Clarion students who have graduated over the last eight years,” she said. “I am proud of the faculty and staff who have worked to build the Clarion experience as a transformative, life-changing experience.