Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal | December 25, 2023 | wbjournal.com Higher ed's admissions issues will grow next year e reversal of affirmative action, along with the ongoing drop in enrollment, will create additional challenges in 2024 BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer T he higher education landscape in Central Massachusetts has seen both peaks and valleys in 2023 and will go into 2024 with work to do to make sure students in need and students on the margins have the same access to education as their more privileged counterparts. Supreme Court ruling will start to play out The U.S. Supreme Court ruling largely prohibiting affirmative action in admissions will have a permanent impact on colleges and universities across the country, and schools will have to adjust how they approach recruitment of students to ensure graduating classes for years to come will not be homogenous. It will be a long game. Financial aid will be a heightened factor Millions of dollars in financial aid became available to students at public universities and community colleges in Central Massachusetts in November, with more avenues to access funding for part-time students and students whose families were above income cutoffs previously. It's a signal from the state government that higher education is a priority, and those universities feel confident the funding will be available for students going forward, helping to address dropping enrollment at public universities and community colleges across the region. Clark-neighborhood tensions will grow Clark University in Worcerster garnered criticism when its plan to demolish a block of the Main South neighborhood became public, calling into question its commitment to the community. Local business owners and Clark students expressed concern about how the destruction and construction may negatively impact the status quo. Clark responded by expanding the area of the neighborhood where residents qualify for free tuition, trying to maintain a positive reputation in the neighborhood. Clark will need to reup those efforts to mitigate negative backlash as it builds out its campus footprint into other areas. W Top higher education news from 2023 Nichols College president resigns amid investigation into Coast Guard misconduct Glenn Sulmasy is out as Nichols College president, according to an announcement posted Oct. 3 to the Dudley school's website. Sulmasy submitted his resignation Oct. 3 to the Board of Trustees as the school conducts an investigation in allegations of impropriety by Sulmasy while he served as an instructor and official at the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. e allegations were first uncovered in an ongoing CNN investigation of the academy, which included that Sulmasy exchanged sexually inappropriate text mes- sages with students, some of which implied he would trade favorable academic treatment in exchange for images. "In light of these reports and facts uncovered to date during the College's ongoing investigation, and their impact on President Sulmasy's ability to lead Nichols College, the Board strongly believes the institu- tion's best interest is to pursue new leadership," read an Oct. 3 statement on Nichols' website. e college will launch a national search for a new president. In the meantime, Vice President for Advance- ment Bill Pieczynski will continue in his role as acting president. In July, CNN reported that while serving at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut he advised a fe- male cadet not to pursue rape allegations against a male cadet. In September, the school launched an investiga- tion and Sulmasy took a voluntary leave of absence. Following the announcement of the investigation, on Sept. 21 CNN reported while at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Sulmasy exchanged more than 1,600 texts, some racy and implying academic favoritism with an- other cadet. As part of its investigation, CNN uncovered more allegations of impropriety. Sulmasy's lawyer Jeffrey Robbins told CNN the texts were consensual in nature. e school's investigator, Pembroke law firm Clifford & Kenny, will issue a formal report to the school, which Nichols intends to keep confidential. Sulmasy commenced in his role as Nichols president on July 1, 2021. Previously, he served as provost and chief academic officer at Bryant University, where he was placed on probation following the Coast Guard revoking a recommendation of Sulmasy. Bryant Uni- versity previously did not respond to a WBJ request for information about whether Bryant made the probation clear to Nichols College prior to his being hired. During the Nichols' investigation, Sulmasy was barred from contact with anyone from Nichols. He is also barred from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy campus. Nichols College enrolled 1,206 students in the fall 2022 semester, the most recent year available, and has an endowment of more than $27 million, according to the WBJ Research Department. PHOTO | COURTESY OF WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS Grace Wang (left), president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Vincent Rougeau, president of the College of the Holy Cross, sign a partnership between the two schools to offer master's degrees programs. Glenn Sulmasy, former Nichols College president

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