Webster University has sold its “Chancellor House,” located at 102 Mason in Webster Groves, for $1.2 million. The University purchased the four-bedroom 3,430-square-foot home in 2012 for $935,000, as the official residence of then Chancellor Beth Stroble, who resided there until her departure from the University in July 2024. Current Chancellor Tim Keane turned down the offer to live in the home as part of his employment contract, and instead directed that it be sold to support Webster’s financial turnaround.
“I was familiar with all of the challenges that Webster has faced, and I thought it would be better to sell that house and put the money back into Webster so we can pursue breaking even at least this year,” says Keane. “The money from this sale will be returned to the University and used to support Webster’s mission of delivering the highest quality education to our students.”
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Keane previously served as Dean of the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego. He returned to St. Louis, his hometown, to take the Chancellor role at Webster in August 2024. The idea to sell the house was originally announced as part of the Kairos Strategic Planning that Keane initiated when he began his position as Chancellor.
Named for Kairos, the Greek god of opportunity and qualitative time, the plan invited everyone on campus to participate, beginning with six weeks of listening sessions that kicked off in September 2024.
“We then broke out into what we call Kairos teams around strategic priorities, including things like thriving financially, but the key was really trying to pull everybody together and get them involved so it’s very inclusive, very transparent,” Keane says of the process.
The plan was completed in January 2025. Needing to make some immediate changes that would have an impact within the first two years led to the sale of the house on Mason. The University had not had a facilities master plan in place since 2012, and not much had been executed on that plan.
“We did an assessment of all of the properties we own and we own more than 20 residences here in Webster alone,” says Keane. “Phase one of the facilities master plan is part of the Kairos plan and it’s really looking at those properties and deciding what it is we want to do for the future. It’s still being fleshed out a little bit, but we’ll probably be making some significant decisions in the next 60 days.”
According to the University, the Webster community has unified around the new direction and the most recent financial audit shows that the school will end the fiscal year with positive cash flow for the first time in more than a decade.
