Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | March 21, 2022 | wbjournal.com PHOTO | COURTESY OF FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY BY KATHERINE HAMILTON WBJ Staff Writer S ince 2020, more than half of Central Massachusetts' colleges and universities have seen a transition in top leadership, with eight presidents leaving or announcing their departure in the last two years. e trend has a variety of implications for higher education in the region, as 10 of the 15 leaders of local colleges have five years of experience or less at their respective institutions. Along with a loss of institutional knowledge with the outgoing presidents, the transition to a new president involves the arduous, yet critical, process of choosing a new leader. "It's a lot of engagement, communi- cation, maybe even strategy," said Kevin Foley, who chaired the presidential search process at Framingham State Uni- versity. "is is probably one of the most important decisions that you can make for a campus." Framingham State announced its new president, Nancy Niemi, in December, about nine months aer outgoing President Javier Cevallos gave his notice of retirement. Most recently in March, Assumption University President Francesco Cesareo announced his plan to retire, just three months before the end of his term. Out- going presidents Paula Rooney at Dean College in Franklin and Laurie Leshin at Worcester Polytechnic Institute also announced their plans to leave by the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. All three of these outgoing presidents outpaced the national average tenure of a college leader, which is 6.5 years, according to the American Council on Education. at average is trending downward from 8.5 years in 2006. Colleges follow an overarching tem- plate to hire a new president, but among the variations of that process, contro- versies have cropped up about the most effective way to pick a leader. A process, potentially flawed Typically, an independent search firm oversees the presidential hiring process, in collaboration with the institution's leadership. A search committee is also formed, made up of about 10 to 12 in- dividuals from throughout the commu- nity, which can include trustees, faculty, students, and alumni. Members of the search committee are asked, usually by the board of trustees, to represent the entire college in the decision-making process. "A part of saying yes [to serving on the committee] was being comfortable with the fact that the committee was going to represent such a broad array of view- points," said Joshua Farrell, a professor at e College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, who served on the presiden- tial search committee in 2020. Including different groups' opinions and priorities in the hiring process is as challenging as it is crucial. Colleges must walk a fine line between includ- ree Central Mass. colleges are actively looking for new leaders, while another five just wrapped up their searches How do you replace a college president? (Clockwise from left corner): David Fithian, president of Clark University; Vincent Rougeau, president of the College of the Holy Cross; Glenn Sulmasy, president of Nichols College; Richard Lessard, president of MCPHS Univer- sity; and Nanci Niemi, incoming president of Framingham State University PHOTO | COURTESY OF CLARK UNIVERSITY PHOTO | COURTESY OF COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT PHOTO | COURTESY OF MCPHS UNIVERSITY

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