Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 21, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 11 ing their community in the selection process and maintaining confidentiality for the candidates. Concerns over transparency in the presidential search process came to a head at WPI aer Leshin announced she will leave to lead NASA's Jet Pro- pulsion Laboratory at the end of the academic year. In February, two faculty groups wrote letters to WPI's administration, voicing concerns about how much represen- tation faculty would have in choosing Leshin's replacement. Both letters emphasized the need for transparency and community engage- ment, as the institute is grieving seven student deaths in six months, at least three of which were suicides. e letter from WPI's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which is the largest professional faculty association on campus, specifically asks for faculty to be given a shared central role in the presidential hiring process. "What the trustees have done in the last couple weeks is that they've been speaking to select faculty and staff about what they want in a president," said Professor John Sanbonmatsu, president of WPI's AAUP chapter. "However, unless there's some kind of representation and unless the community has direct input into the search process, that's insufficient." Listening sessions are a common tool colleges use to gauge what the commu- nity wants to see in a new president. Colleges typically aim to hold sessions with as many different groups on campus as possible, but, as Sanbonmatsu said, there is a limit to how much representa- tion these sessions provide. WPI has "been holding listening sessions, but unless faculty are elected to the search committee and the search is an open, transparent process, then our concerns will stand," Sanbonmatsu said. "ey could just ignore the feedback that they've been getting." WPI said in a statement it will appoint a search committee to include faculty, students, alumni, and trustees. In AAUP's letter, the organization asks that faculty and graduate students be able to elect their representatives to the committee, rather than have them appointed by the board of trustees or an independent firm. "e search process will be broad and consultative and will engage the entire WPI community as we balance the need for agility and confidentiality," said the statement from WPI. is balance is indeed a delicate one, as some officials argue greater transpar- ency leads to less confidentiality for the candidates. It may deter some applicants to know their names will be publicized and their current employer will know they're applying for another job. Most colleges keep all candidates confidential until they have chosen two or three final- ists, who might come on campus to meet and talk with different groups in person. "You may lack getting candidates if the 20 people that applied all of a sudden [have] their names [made] public. Peo- ple might not want to apply," said Randy Becker, who chaired the presidential search committee for Nichols College in Dudley that selected Glenn Sulmasy from Bryant University in Rhode Island to succeed Susan West Engelkemeyer. Changing demands Higher education is not immune to the current challenges of attracting tal- ent. Six of the seven presidents who have le in the last two years have retired, with the seventh – Leshin – leaving for a job outside of higher education. "It almost seems apropos of the Great Resignation," Becker said. "With COVID the past couple years, it seems that peo- ple may be reassessing when they want to retire or when they want to make a move. It's just a huge time of change." Leaders in higher education are faced with new pressures presented by the coronavirus pandemic, enrollment num- bers, and equity issues, Becker said. As demands on college presidents change, however, it is an opportune time for schools to choose a new leader to fit those evolving needs. Holy Cross opened up its application pool to non-Jesuit lay people for the first time, electing Vincent Rougeau, who became both the school's first lay and Black president when he replaced Philip Boroughs. In the last several years, the college has struggled with questions of racism, including its historical ties to slavery and its mascot, the Crusader. Foley of Framingham State said the university had a particularly nontra- ARCHITECTURE | PLANNING | DESIGN INNOVATION 50 Speen Street, Ste 300, Framingham, MA 01701 Photo: © Keitaro Yoshioka 617-467-3119 MATZCollaborative.com CREATIVE SPACES FOR LEARNING, GROWING AND SUSTAINING ditional pool of applicants, with some coming from the medical field and elsewhere outside of the higher educa- tion sector. "It's an interesting time for higher ed- ucation," Foley said. "It's a great potential to really pivot, to look at nontraditional learners, or to look at different vehicles to continue to expound on the idea of higher learning." New presidents By the end of the 2021-2022 academic year, 11 Central Massachusetts college presidents will have started in their roles within the past five years. College President Starting year *Announced plans to leave, and a replacement search process is underway. Sources: WBJ reporting, college websites W Dean College, Franklin Paula Rooney* 1995 Assumption University, Worcester Francesco Cesareo* 2007 UMass Medical School, Worcester Michael Collins (chancellor) 2008 Worcester State University Barry Maloney 2011 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Laurie Leshin* 2014 Anna Maria College, Paxton Mary Lou Retelle 2015 Fitchburg State University Richard Lapidus 2015 Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester Luis Pedraja 2017 Mount Wachusett Community College, Gardner James Vander Hooven 2017 Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton Alastair Cribb (dean) 2019 Clark University, Worcester David Fithian 2020 MCPHS University, Worcester Richard Lessard 2020 College of the Holy Cross, Worcester Vincent Rougeau 2021 Nichols College, Dudley Glenn Sulmasy 2021 Framingham State University Nancy Niemi July 2022, incoming

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