David Armstrong #

Introduction #

David Armstrong is a university administrator who resigned on September 8, 2026 as president of St. Thomas University, a private Catholic university in Miami Gardens, Florida, after eight years leading the institution. His departure came after more than a month on administrative leave, during which the university was investigating an alleged violation of St. Thomas policy. Armstrong had been placed on leave in July 2026 while the school looked into “allegations of conduct in violation of university policy,” and the university never disclosed what those allegations were, whether the investigation was ever completed, or what, if anything, it found. The resignation was announced late Tuesday afternoon not by Armstrong himself but through a statement issued by a crisis-management firm hired by the university, and officials refused to answer basic questions about the case.

Background Information #

Armstrong became president of St. Thomas University in 2018 and led the private Catholic university in Miami Gardens for eight years. Before arriving in Miami, he served as president of Thomas More College in Kentucky from 2013 to 2018. During his tenure at St. Thomas, the university achieved multiple years of record enrollment growth, set annual fundraising records, and increased operating revenue by more than half, according to university documents, which financial records showed reflected a strong fiscal position. That record stood largely unmentioned in the announcement of his exit, which instead thanked him and wished him well.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Context. No criminal conduct has been alleged or charged in this case. The July 2026 leave stemmed from an internal university investigation into “allegations of conduct in violation of university policy” that was never publicly detailed or adjudicated, and Armstrong has not publicly addressed the allegations.

In July 2026, St. Thomas University placed Armstrong on administrative leave while investigating “allegations of conduct in violation of university policy,” according to CBS News Miami. The specific allegations were never made public, and the July memo announcing the investigation provided no context about what he was accused of doing. The Miami Herald reported that the leave related to claims that Armstrong had violated St. Thomas policy, but the university provided no update on the specific claims or any findings during the more than a month that followed. Miami New Times described the situation bluntly: the resignation statement contained “exactly as much context as the July memo revealing an investigation into him: None.”

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Late in the day on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the university announced Armstrong’s resignation in a statement provided by Wragg & Casas Strategic Communications, a crisis-management firm. “We accept President Armstrong’s decision and thank him for the contributions he made to St. Thomas University. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” the statement said. School officials confirmed that Armstrong and St. Thomas jointly agreed to his departure. The Board of Trustees appointed Father Rafael Capó, the university’s vice president for Mission and Ministry, as interim president while it conducts a national search for a new president; Capó had already been overseeing the university’s leadership since Armstrong was placed on leave. A university spokesperson told New Times by email that there was no other information available about the resignation and did not answer questions about whether the investigation had been completed, whether an unfinished investigation would continue after Armstrong’s resignation, or what allegations had led to it in the first place.

Current Status #

Armstrong’s resignation took effect following the September 8, 2026 announcement, ending his eight-year presidency and leaving the university under the interim leadership of Rev. Rafael Capó. As of September 10, 2026, the university had not provided public details on if or when it might launch a presidential search beyond the national search referenced in its announcement. The allegations that prompted Armstrong’s placement on leave in July 2026 have never been disclosed, and the university has not said whether the investigation into him was ever concluded or what it determined.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

The undisclosed investigation ended Armstrong’s presidency roughly two months after he was placed on leave and his eight-year run atop St. Thomas University, and no successor had been named as of the days following his exit. The resignation announcement also landed days before a former St. Thomas director of admissions filed a lawsuit against the university, accusing it of blindsiding her with termination five weeks after she requested medical leave during graduation week in spring 2025, weeks after learning she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; per the lawsuit, her record included a 100% performance evaluation on January 17, 2025, five months before she was fired. Armstrong’s only appearance in that lawsuit relates to his having promoted the plaintiff to the director of admissions post she was terminated from. Beyond his record of enrollment and fundraising growth at St. Thomas and his prior presidency at Thomas More College in Kentucky, coverage did not report any subsequent professional role for Armstrong. The circumstances of the policy investigation that ended his tenure remain publicly unexplained and unadjudicated.