Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | June 16, 2025 | wbjournal.com BY MICA KANNER-MASCOLO WBJ Staff Writer I n response to financial challeng- es and a dramatically reduced incoming freshman class, Clark University in Worcester school will restructure its degree tracks and layoff up to 30% of its faculty. For this upcoming fall, Clark's en- tering undergraduate class is currently underenrolled by about 80 to 100 stu- dents, representing a nearly 20% drop from the school's projected incoming class of 525, Clark President David Fithian told WBJ. Additionally, the university's grad- uate school enrollment is up in the air as Clark and the country as a whole are waiting to see the effects of the Presi- dent Donald Trump Administration's crackdown on immigration, greatly impacting their international student populations. With 82% of its graduate school con- sisting of international students, Clark was ranked the 9th school in the nation most dependent on international stu- dents by e New York Times, higher on the list than Ivy League schools in- cluding Harvard University, Princeton University, and Brown University. In combination with rising opera- tional expenses, such as supplies, con- tracts with dining services, and wrap- around services, these figures mean the university will need to significantly scale back its employee count. "We have to contract to a right-size institution in response to fewer stu- I N B R I E F Dean resigns "It really has been a labor of love for me to work with so many really brilliant and talented young people, but because of the dynamics, I think it best that I completely walk away from Clark at this time." David Jordan on his resignation as dean of the School of Business at Clark University, effective July 5. Jordan's resignation came as the Worcester school announced an overhaul restructuring of its degree programs, including at the School of Business. New bank name "Bay State is, and always will be, Bay State. Dropping 'Savings' was simply overdue. We're a bank for dreamers, and for the day-to-day steps that help bring those dreams to life. That means more than savings alone." Seth Pitts, president and CEO of Bay State Bank, after the Worcester- based bank announced plans to open its first location in Shrewsbury. Bay State renamed itself from Bay State Savings Bank in 2024. $300M Amazon center "This technology shows [Massachusetts'] leadership in robotics, and that means faster delivery of goods for both sellers and buyers." Gov. Maura Healey, at the ribbon-cutting for the $300-million Amazon robotics fulfillment center in Charlton Clark University to lay off up to 30% of faculty, significantly restructure degree tracks amid financial strain Clark University's main campus is situated in the Main South neighborhood of Worcester. dents, and that will quite unfortunately and regrettably mean some reduction force," said Fithian. Going forward, the school will reduce its staff by about 5% over the next year and reduce its faculty by about 25% to 30% over the next two years, including part-time faculty who have not been renewed. e personnel decisions will affect non-tenure track faculty, pre-tenure faculty, and adjunct faculty. It is too early to determine whether or not the layoffs will impact tenured faculty since there are a num- ber of procedural steps needing to be addressed before those members would be affected. is faculty contraction will slightly raise Clark's student to faculty ratio from about 7/8:1 to about 10:1. Furthermore, since September, the university has implemented an across- the-board hiring freeze. "We have a commitment to our cur- rent folks as fully as we can. We're not going to hire new folks unless people leave of their own volition from posi- tions that we absolutely cannot keep vacant," said Fithian. ese financial strains and reduced workforce have challenged the univer- sity to think differently about how it fulfills its mission, which will include restructuring the university's major and minor offerings, he said. "We have decided we need to focus on a small number of academic areas that check on our historic strengths, that are most relevant to what students are telling us they are interested in studying, what they need to be success- ful in the world, and with that, trying to become more efficient in delivering a high-quality education," said Fithian. e university does not have plans to cut any more majors or minors since closing three degree programs in April, but instead, Clark is orchestrating a reconfiguration of its different schools to promote more interdisciplinary degree tracks. "We're not in a critical position now, but the urgency is there, and I think the urgency is also an opportunity," said Fithian. Over the next few years, Clark will divide its degree tracks into three dif- ferent schools: 1. e School of Climate, Envi- ronment, and Society will house its departments of sustainability and social justice; biology; and economics; the School of Geography; Center for Geospatial Analytics; and the George Perkins Marsh Institute. 2. Its second, yet-to-be-named school will house Clark's departments of visual and performing arts; and computer science; Center for Media Arts, Computing, and Design/Becker School of Design & Technology, and the interactive media program. 3. Its third, yet-to-be-named school will house Clark's departments of psy- chology; education; and biology. e new schools will be designed to work cross-disciplinarily individually and throughout the three clusters. W

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