Sam Horn, president of Master’s University and Seminary for the past year, will be stepping down from his position, university officials said Monday.

Horn served as the TMUS president from 2020-21. He has been the third president of the university since 2019 after John Stead served as the interim head of the school from 2019-20, and John MacArthur had been in the position from 1985-2019.

Officials from TMUS declined to comment to The Signal on Tuesday on the reason for Horn’s departure, but Corey Williams, a spokesman for the school, said the board of directors had received a resignation letter from Horn on Feb. 26.

“The board is meeting on Friday. They’re going to pick an interim president on Friday, and then they’re going to start the process of selecting a new president right after that,” Williams said.

In a statement issued on Monday, board members said they are grateful to Horn for leading the school during the COVID-19 pandemic and the reaffirmation of accreditation by the Western Senior College and University Commission.

In 2018, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC, through its WSCUC, had imposed the sanction of probation after its review team had conducted a review of TMU in March of that same year.

The report from the WSCUC noted their concern over the board of director’s lack of independence from John MacArthur, a “climate of fear, intimidation, bullying, and uncertainty” for staff members, financial conflicts of interest, underqualified leadership for positions in higher education, and some staff being hired to positions that lacked job descriptions.

In November 2020, following continued review by the regional accrediting association and commendation for the school’s revised policies, TMUS’ probation was lifted and its accreditation reaffirmed for six years.

“This past year has been one of the most challenging years in higher education and we are grateful for our entire leadership team during this unprecedented time,” read the statement from the TMUS board of directors.