Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 26, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 13 Voted Worcester's Best Bank for Business in 2021. Connecting all offices: 800.578.4270 • www.unibank.com Member FDIC/Member DIF • UniBank NMLS #583135 Visit us online or call today. Michael Welch, CEO Leader in Commercial & Industrial Loans and Commercial Real Estate Loans with $2.3 billion in assets. (as of March 31, 2021) unibank.com 508.849.4335 Large enough to serve all your business banking needs, but still small enough to know you by name. a toolkit to survive the marketplace." Attracting global students For Nichols, the preparation includes plans to expand partnerships interna- tionally. e development provides the double benefit of increasing both out- reach to new student populations and opportunities for the existing ones. "We're working on a relationship with a college in Colombia as well as one in China. It's important for the Nichols brand to get in with our competitors by expanding internationally," said Sulmasy. "I'm committed to growing Nichols' international business program partially by providing internships inter- nationally." e push to extend outreach reflects the need for universities to articulate a brand to donors. Assumption Univer- sity, which changed its name from As- sumption College in 2019, did so in part to reflect administrative reorganization. "e branding of an institution is very critical. It represents the promise that you can give to prospective stu- dents and their families in terms of their outcomes," said Cesareo. "Following the name change, we've already seen that philanthropic support has increased. Additionally, we saw an increase in ap- W Nichols endowment Colleges and universities use their endowments to fund scholarships, develop new programs, and grow their facilities. The endowments provide a source of financial stability in times of crisis. College of the Holy Cross, Worcester $760 million Worcester Polytechnic Institute $506 million Clark University, Worcester $410 million Assumption University, Worcester $83 million Dean College, Franklin $59 million Framingham State University $47 million Worcester State University $35 million Fitchburg State University $22.6 million Nichols College, Dudley $21.8 million Anna Maria College, Paxton $6 million School Endowment I N N O V A T I O N & H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N F O C U S plications prior to the pandemic that we hope to see resume post-pandemic." Sulmasy said he and leaders of other local colleges face a difficult task. "It's going to be a bumpy road. In New England, the reality is that the demographics are not in our favor," he said. "We have to compete for the same limited pool of students." Talking money Sulmasy expressed his interest in continuing to develop the relationships within Central Mass. begun by his pre- decessor, Susan West Engelkemeyer, as well as building on her fundraising suc- cess. Under her tenure, Nichols' bicen- tennial fundraising campaign surpassed its goal of $45 million to eventually raise $66 million by its conclusion. Nichols endowment is $22 million, which is the second lowest among the 10 four-year Central Mass. universities. "Growing the endowment is an important part of what we need to do. I see this as one of my primary jobs. It's critical to be able to provide scholarships and opportunities for underprivileged students and to endow professors and programs," said Sulmasy. Looking ahead to the next decade, Sulmasy's goals reflect not only his am- bition for Nichols but his anticipation of the challenges to come. "We have to talk about return on investment in admissions outreach," said Sulmasy. "Higher education costs too much these days to have just to have as a benefit. It's critical for job placement. If college administrations aren't focused in that mindset, they're not going to survive the next 10 years." Sources: Each individual college Francesco Cesareo, president of Assumption University in Worcester

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