Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com August 3, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 21 Perhaps given a longer time frame, Boston would still be in the hunt to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. But even though the Boston organizers were still in the first half of a two-year-long contest to win the bid, the U.S. Olympic Committee shortened the game and pronounced the equivalent of a "two-minute warning" last month to Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh: Commit to the effort — including a guarantee to use public money to pay for cost overruns — or the game is over. Fortunately, Walsh refused to play when he announced last week that he wouldn't sign on and "mortgage" the city, even though he e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y supported the bid for the games. Baker, for his part, wasn't going to do the dance with the USOC either until he was satisfied that the state wouldn't suffer a similar fate. (His report from a consulting group is several weeks from completion.) Both leaders deserve commendation for acting responsibly on behalf of their respective taxpayers. Perhaps the global exposure in hosting the world's athletes for two or three weeks would have generated a long-term economic boost and accelerated a long-delayed improvement in our transportation infrastructure — even in Central Massachusetts. But the effort generated much more skepticism and hard questions that, without adequate answers, failed to win significant public backing. The fact that the advocacy group Boston 2024 significantly modified its original plan in favor of a new one in June further stalled any momentum the effort might have generated. According to monthly polls by radio station WBUR and MassInc, only 42 percent of residents statewide supported the effort. In the Boston area, support was even lower, at 40 percent, down from a high of 51 percent in a January poll. So, the USOC will look elsewhere, likely Los Angeles, in search for a U.S. representative bid. Los Angeles may be the right choice, just 31 years after it hosted the 1984 Games, which turned a profit and did not need city money to pay for cost overruns. At least LA has an infrastructure advantage out of the gate. M a s s a c h u s e t t s , with its globally recognized colleges and innovation culture, would have made a worthy Olympic host. And Central Massachusetts would have received some of that activity with handball events at the DCU Center. But as support waned over the last several months, it became clear that hosting the games would not have been necessary to enhance the region's economic and cultural vitality — especially if the financial outcome were to have been similar to the multibillion-dollar deficits created in recent Olympic Games. n No agony of defeat in canceled Olympics bid E D I T O R I A L The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Rick Saia, editor, at rsaia@wbjournal.com. Letters can also be faxed to 508-755-8860. M assachusetts lost one of its truly great leaders last month when Dr. Aaron Lazare passed away at the age of 79. I don't pretend to know whether greatness is a function of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances, or whether extraordinary people transform ordinary events, but I do know what Aaron accomplished as chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School at a unique point in its history, when a good institution was confronted with falling into mediocrity and was, rather, led to greatness. To understand that, one needs some history. In the 1960s, the legislature was committed to support institutions of public higher education to stand alongside the commonwealth's historically strong private institutions. At the top of that commitment was the desire to give the sons and daughters of Massachusetts' working families the opportunity to become doctors. Second was the goal of educating and training primary care physicians to serve Massachusetts citizens. These commitments coincided with national efforts to expand the quality and number of physicians. Thus, the medical school was born. But by the late 1980s, the institution was at a crossroads, facing challenges that jeopardized its financial and community support. Without it, the medical school was also challenged to define its core values and reason for existence. A steep cut in the direct state appropriation, elimination of crucial subsidies to the fringe benefit rate, neglect of capital needs and a morale-crushing furlough program combined to threaten the institution's ability to survive. This was the institution Aaron Lazare inherited and the one which, over the next 16 years, he led, nurtured and cajoled, healing wounds inflicted over years of conflict, restoring relationships, and innovating in the areas of curriculum, clinical practice, research, technology and community outreach to achieve national distinction. Aaron was a leader who set the tone and made organizational transformation possible. He was unquestionably quick and clever, but more importantly, he was thoughtful and resolute. Not controlling and domineering, but empowering and supporting. Aaron involved and solicited from many, challenging them to work with him to find answers. The proof of Aaron's leadership lies in the results. The medical school was transformed into a leader in education, research, clinical care and public service. A young scientist, recruited in 1992 with resources Aaron provided, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2006. Aaron transformed an institution that saw itself only as part of a public university system into an enterprise that saw itself capable of national distinction in teaching, discovery and service to underserved populations. The medical school has become a recognized national leader in medical education and has broken into the ranks of leadership among research institutions. It's also a valued partner for delivering services to the people of Massachusetts and other states, and a dominant regional clinical force. Under Aaron Lazare's guidance, the school became the jewel of the University of Massachusetts system, led by a jewel of a leader. n Richard J. Stanton is associate vice chancellor and associate dean for finance and administration at the Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis. From 1992-2008, he was deputy chancellor for administration and finance at UMass Medical School. How Aaron Lazare's leadership renewed a medical school BY RICHARD J. STANTON Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T What's next for EMC? I n the seemingly endless quest to help their customers do things faster, better and cheaper, the information technology industry innovates and changes quickly enough that what's standard one year may well become obsolete only a couple years later. EMC Corp. has built itself into a leadership position in data storage and ranks 128th on the Fortune 500. The Hopkinton-based company has been an important citizen of the state and employs about 9,400 in Central Massachusetts. It has also won commendations for its energy savings and human resource practices. But EMC has been facing investor pressure in recent months to wring out more value, especially as competitors with cloud-based offerings win over some business customers. There have also been reports of a possible merger with Hewlett- Packard, with financial services provider Raymond James Corp. having gone as far as to predict that it will happen. And with Joseph Tucci, EMC's CEO, having said in last month's earnings call that the company will cut $850 million in annual expenses by 2017, a figure that will include job losses, the company is clearly running into a little turbulence. In the past, EMC has faced these kinds of competitive threats and managed to survive and move ahead. Change in the technology field comes at a punishingly fast pace, and this latest challenge may prove to be EMC's biggest. n W ith the possible exception of a sports team that rises from the ash heap to championship contention, it takes time to get the public excited about something to a level where it can generate and sustain widespread support. Dr. Aaron Lazare, who died July 14, took over the chancellorship of the University of Massachusetts Medic al School in 1991, and deftly guided it toward excellence.

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