Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | January 11, 2021 | wbjournal.com BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor D avid Fithian could hardly have faced a more challenging first semester starting out his term as president of Clark University. Fithian, a 1987 Clark graduate, was chosen for the job at the Worcester school in January, when he spoke of the importance of listening to the community's needs and facing bold ideas. en the coronavirus pandemic hit. Later, the campus was faced with racial equality protests and made headlines when it broke ties with the Worcester Police Department. For Fithian, the pandemic in particular forced him to quickly form collaborative relationships with presidents of other nearby colleges and form operational plans with a Clark administration he was only just starting to get to know. "ere are many ways for which the intensity and immediacy of needing to plan for a number of different scenarios for fall, starting back in the spring, actually, for me as an incoming president were helpful in bringing the leadership team together, and giving us something to focus on that we had to accomplish as a group," he said in a wide-ranging interview. "I don't bemoan the fact that I became a president under these circumstances. Would I choose these circumstances? Of course not. But there is a way in which it really focused the work right away." Thrown off track Before Fithian even began officially serving as Clark's president on July 1, he was already leading its emergency response committee. His predecessor, David Angel, was leaving Clark aer a decade as its president, and giving Fithian a head start would enable the administration to better prepare for a fall in which there were lots of unknowns. Regular meetings among area college presidents have been critical in developing the best pandemic response plans, said Jeanine Went, the executive director of the Higher Education Consortium of Cetnral Massachusetts. "I believe his openess in sharing ideas and plans has helped him to acculturate quickly," she said. Virtually everything else about Fithian's first semester as Clark's president would have to be pushed aside. He did hire a vice president to help on strategic planning, and Fithian has laid out five areas of focus and potential investment – he wouldn't make their details public – as he hopes Clark can take ambitious steps to better differentiate itself once the pandemic passes. "We're off and running with that work," Fithian said. "I've shared my hope that we'd be open to greater ambition." Fithian quickly adds a push for more ambition is no slight to his predecessor or existing administrators or faculty. It's through Fithian's experience in serving as a dean at Harvard University in Cambridge and as an executive vice president at the University of Chicago that Fithian better understands where Clark can carve its niche. Clark doesn't have nearly the financial he or brand name those schools have, yet its endowment stands at more than $400 million and the school spans both research and liberal arts focuses. Its relatively small campus and student body allows for a city living experience for students without feeling lost. "e size and scale of Clark allows that to be pretty compelling," Fithian said. "We need to take this moment early e pandemic threw off his first year as president, but David Fithian still sees greater ambition for Clark University Untapped potential Clark University President David Fithian PHOTO/GRANT WELKER Clark University President David Fithian returned to lead his alma mater in 2020.

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