Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 29, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 27 Need Extra Capital to Take Your Business to the Next Level? 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com Member FDIC | Member DIF We're here to support your growth and success. Our tailored financing solutions address your unique needs for construction, equipment, expansion, and working capital, helping your business thrive. Scan the QR code to learn more. FletcherTilton.com WORCESTER | BOSTON | FRAMINGHAM | CAPE COD | PROVIDENCE Success in commercial real estate takes more than experience—it takes local insight and the right connections. Our deep knowledge of regional markets helps guide your project from concept to completion, with clarity, efficiency, and timing always in mind. Because informed decisions build strong foundations. Todd Brodeur 508.459.8038 Mark Donahue 508.459.8029 Burns Bridge in Shrewsbury, MA. Photo by Jerry Callaghan Where Vision Meets Opportunity – We Bridge the Way HIGHER EDUCATION Four WPI international students have visas revoked Federal authorities have revoked the visas of four international students study- ing at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. WPI does not know why the students' visas have been rescinded as the univer- sity was only alerted to their revocation by checking the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System on April 9 morning, a government-run web system used to monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. "In this climate of uncertainty, I want to assure WPI's international students, staff, and faculty: You are welcome here. You belong here. WPI is here to support you," WPI President Grace Wang wrote April 9 in an internal memo obtained by WBJ. "I know from my own experience the transformative power of international study. WPI has long provided a welcom- ing academic home for students and scholars from around the world. eir perspectives make WPI a more connect- ed, more creative, and more intellectually rigorous university." WPI checks the SEVIP several times a day and will contact and support stu- dents whose visa statuses have changed, said Wang. "WPI is working directly with these students to help them locate legal repre- sentation and to determine the next steps regarding their programs of study. We understand that international students may feel anxious about their visa status," Wang wrote. News of the revoked visas comes as President Donald Trump Administration has cracked down on immigration since January, including arresting and detain- ing international students for expressing support for Palestine in the midst of the Gaza war. On March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish international student at Tus University in Medford was arrested on the street by masked, plain- clothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers. UMass Chan receives $35M, third-largest UMass system donation ever UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester has received the third-largest donation in the entire UMass system's history, prompting the medical school's chancellor to recommend the New Edu- cation and Research Building be renamed aer the donor. UMass Chan has received a $35-mil- lion donation from the Florida-based Paul J. DiMare Foundation, gied in an effort to support the school's research of neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, particularly ALS, and to recruit biomed- ical research faculty members, according to a Feb. 13 press release. Having begun working for his family's produce business located at Haymar- ket Square in Boston as an 11 year old, DiMare helped grow the DiMare Co. to one of the largest fresh-market tomato growers and distributors in the nation. "is tremendous gi is a bold en- dorsement for life-changing biomedical research and will undoubtedly advance UMass Chan's mission to change the course of history of disease, while simul- taneously bolstering Mr. DiMare's endur- ing legacy, characterized by his astute, innovative and engaged business acumen; good will; and generous commitment to the greater good," UMass Chan Chancel- lor Dr. Michael Collins said in the release. Collins has recommended to the Uni- versity of Massachusetts Board of Trust- ees that UMass Chan's NERB be named the Paul J. DiMare Center in honor of the Belmont native. e board is anticipated to vote on the proposition at its upcoming April meeting. UMass Chan unveiled the 350,000-square-foot NERB on June 7 fol- lowing four years of construction totalling $350 million. e nine-floor building is home to more than 70 principal investiga- tors focusing on both rare and common disease research. e $35-million donation from DiMare comes four years aer the medical school received a $175-million donation from e Morningside Foundation. In 2025, four WPI international students had their visas revoked by the federal government for unknown reasons. In April, the students regained their legal status to study. UMass Chan's new research building has been renamed after Paul DiMare. W

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