Worcester Business Journal

36 2 021 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N David Fithian President Clark University, in Worcester Fithian could hardly have had a more challenging semester to start his tenure leading his alma mater. Fithian, a 1987 Clark graduate, joined the Worcester school from the University of Chicago. It was only about two months aer he was named the next president before the coronavirus pandemic hit and much of his first semester was spent having to coordinate plans to keep everyone in the Clark community safe, while holding classes online and in person, and conducting tens of thousands of coronavirus tests. en, the university made unwanted headlines for severing its relationship with the Worcester Police Department amid the Black Lives Matter movement, and questions about its commitment to diversity. As a Clark grad himself, Fithian is the man to address that head-on. "ere's no question that I need to listen to what people are thinking and wanting in Clark today," he said. Nichole Wheeler Coordinator for career services and credit for prior learning Quinsigamond Community College, in Worcester When the coronavirus pandemic upended thousands of careers, it's the role of places like QCC to help workers get back into the workforce quickly and in a place that best fits them. e office where Wheeler has worked for eight years performs two main tasks: helping students get ready outside the classroom for a career by matching them with potential employers, and aiding with cover letters and resumes, as well as helping people quickly complete requirements they need by offering credits for military or work experience. "at's where our office comes in, working on how does that education they just received, how do they use that to get that job?" she said. Milagros Rosal Vice provost for health equity UMass Medical School, in Worcester e medical school created this new administrative position this year, and for good reason. Health equity has been a major discussion point around the pandemic, with Black and Hispanic populations dispro- portionately hit by COVID-19. Rosal has already devoted her career to researching chronic health conditions posing a significant burden to racial and ethnic minorities. A professor of popula- tion and quantitative health sciences, she was named to the new post in September, giving the school an im- portant new figure to oversee its strategy for increasing recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty. People in higher educa- tion to meet in 2021 Higher education's future is less uncertain Aer finding their way through the dark in the fall semester, colleges look to navigate spring and fall 2021 semesters with fewer unknowns T he fall 2020 semester is one that tested colleges unlike any before it. For many undergraduates, the college experience involves packing in a classroom full of other students, living in dorms and experiencing life on their own for the first time. Little of that was possible this fall because of the coronavi- rus pandemic. e coming year will require keeping an eye out for how different trends respond to what could be a return to some normalcy by the fall. Testing and restrictions must stay effective Colleges in Central Mass. generally still had at least some classes on campus, and some students in dorms. To allow for that, they tested, tested and tested some more: at least 240,000 coronavirus tests over a roughly four-month stretch. Largely speaking, it worked. e schools' positivity rate was about 0.1%, well below the state average, even for other colleges statewide. Now, colleges will have to repeat the act for the spring. College of the Holy Cross, for one, plans to hold classes in person in the spring, unlike the fall, saying it learned what will be effective for keeping people safe. e major challenge is colleges will likely be starting the semester with a far higher national case level than they did in the late summer. By the time the semester's mostly through, vaccines could be starting to make a significant dent in new case numbers. BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Enrollment unknowns Will the fall 2021 semester be safe enough for schools to operate relatively normally? Will students who deferred their first year or dropped out return? If so, would that lead to tougher admissions stan- dards, as colleges would have to fit more students than normal into classrooms and dorms? And for foreign students, will they feel as safe studying in a country that's easily led the world in coronavirus deaths and cases? What about students who couldn't or didn't take their SAT? College admissions officials described planning for the fall 2020 semester as a huge unknown, even deep into the summer when the student body would typically be largely established. e same could well be true for the fall of 2021, with news reports showing applications down slightly. Another financial challenge Small colleges in particular have been struggling fi- nancially to balance rising costs of educating students with sometimes through-the-roof student debt ham- pering their financial wellbeing well aer graduation. Nichols College in Dudley spent nearly $1 million in the fall semester on tests alone. Schools will have to do the same for the spring semester, as well as retrofit classroom and dorm spaces. ey're foregoing the revenue of enrollment, specifically room and board. For deep-pocketed schools, it's just a speed bump. For others, it's another financial challenge, and it may be hard for the financial crunch not to result in cuts including layoffs or furloughs. W W College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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