Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 15, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 5 Fitchburg State names contenders in presidential search Fitchburg State University is one step closer to naming its next president, as the school has released a list of four finalists for the position. Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus will retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. e candidate who is selected by Fitchburg State will succeed Richard Lapidus, the 11th president of the university who has been in the role since 2015. Fitchburg State has planned public forums for each candidate, giving stu- dents, faculty, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders an opportunity to hear from each potential president. All of these forums will be held at Ellis White Lecture Hall in the university's Ham- mond Hall, according to a press release issued by Fitchburg State on April 2. e four finalists for the position are: • Karim Ismaili, the executive vice president and provost at Bridgewater State University. Ismaili's public forum was held on ursday, April 11. • Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, dean and chief administrative officer at the University of Connecticut Hartford. Overmyer-Velázquez's public forum will be held at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. • Donna Souder Hodge, the vice president of operations & advancement at Colorado State University, Pueblo. e public forum for Hodge will be held at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23. • Michael Godard, provost at Southeast Missouri State University. Godard's public forum will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. Fitchburg State has not yet had a person of color or a woman lead the university as president. e search for the university's next president is being led by its Board of Trustees, chaired by Fitchburg State alum Eric Gregoire. e university worked with WittKieffer, an executive recruiting firm based in Burlington, to help identify these candidates. In October, President Lapidus an- nounced his intent to retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, citing a desire to spend more time with family and friends. New cannabis business association seeks to provide unified voice for industry As the Massachusetts cannabis industry battles declining cannabis prices, lawsuits, and a number of other growing pains, a new business associa- tion has emerged to attempt to provide a singular voice for license holders and ancillary companies. e Boston-based Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition launched in late 2023, with members including Garden Remedies of Fitchburg. e MCC was founded by Ryan Dominguez, a former chief of staff for State Rep. Chynah Tyler (D-Roxbury). Dominguez founded Mass Culti- vatED, a Boston nonprofit focused on providing cannabis-related employ- ment and education opportunities for formerly incarcerated people. He is a member of the Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board, a state board administrating the Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund, designed to assist entrepreneurs from communities dis- proportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement. e coalition joins a number of other cannabis-focused business asso- ciations. e Boston-based Massachu- setts Cannabis Business Association was founded in 2018. At the federal level, the U.S. Cannabis Council in Washington D.C is made up of some of the largest marijuana companies in the world. USCC members include Wakefield-based Curaleaf and Nor- wood-based MariMed, two publicly traded companies operating businesses across multiple states. e Den- ver-based National Cannabis Industry Association focuses on issues impact- ing smaller cannabis businesses, among other trade groups. e new Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition sets itself apart because of the broad coalition it's attempting to build, Dominguez said. "e biggest [difference] is that we're inclusive of all different kinds of license types and ancillary businesses," he said. Continued on next page (Clockwise from top left) Karim Ismaili, Donna Souder Hodge, Mark Overmyer- Velaquez, and Michael Godard $140 million Contract entered into by Framingham clean energy firm Ameresco to build a biogas cogeneration facility in Sacramento, California Source: Ameresco 4 Stores the Connecticut-based Bob's Discount Furniture will have in Central Massachusetts, following its planned opening in the former Leominster location of Bed Bath & Beyond Source: Bob's Discount Furniture Federal funding awarded to Worcester Community Housing Resources for its project to convert the former Quality Inn & Suites into a 90-unit supportive housing development Source: Worcester Community Housing Resources $1.6 million 67 Vineyard St. Planned location in Millville of the Earth Connection Center for the conservation nonprofit Earth Ltd., which previously was housed in Southwick's Zoo in Mendon Source: Earth Ltd. 75,000 square feet Size of the collision center McGovern Auto Group opened in Shrewsbury, which includes 40 repair bays Source: McGovern Auto Group $145,000 Massachusetts Department of Public Health 17-month grant award to Worcester nonprofit Latin American Health Alliance to address substance use in communities disproportionately impacted by overdoses Source: Gov. Maura Healey Administration 51.9 Down 0.5 points from February, the March score on the Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index, a monthly look at business leaders' outlook on the economy. Rated on a 100-point scale, any score above 50 is considered optimistic. Sources: Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

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