Worcester Business Journal

T here's an advantage to having the inside track on a job. Mary Lou Retelle owned the position of Anna Maria College interim president for nearly a year before the trust- ees at the small Catholic school turned to her to take the job permanently — even though more than 70 people applied for the job after former president Jack Calareso left to become president of St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, N.Y. Retelle was "not only the best prepared candidate for the position, but the one who has lived it, and performed extremely well," Paul A. DiPierro, chair of the school's board of trust- ees, said about her appointment. You're in this job at a time when small private colleges such as yours are facing heavy competitive challenges. How can a school like Anna Maria move confidently into the future? What we decided to do was focus on what we do best. A school like Anna Maria, and any other school that is looking to the future, particularly in this very competitive market, (has) to focus on what you do best. What we do best and what we determined we did best was serving the public good, training students … like we have for the last 70 years: law enforcement, nursing, teachers, social workers, music therapists, firefighters. Has your experience working for a public uni- versity also helped you prepare for this role? Sure. It's a whole different kind of emphasis in that you don't have quite the same marketing chal- lenges that you do with a smaller college, because you have a natural affinity toward people (who are) looking at a public institution as being more affordable. There's always a cost factor (and) you have to look beyond the value that you're getting, with the attention you're getting at the private ver- sus the public (institution). At the time you were named interim president, did you want the job on a permanent basis? Or did you see it as a way to "kick the tires"? In a way, both. My all-time aspirations were not to be a college president. When they offered me the interim position, I saw it as an opportunity not only to hone some skills … but really to contribute back to the institution and do the best that I could to prepare for the next president. Is there a point where you wanted the job on a permanent basis? Oh sure, because I was starting to see things happen that were really exciting. People were get- ting excited about it. There was a new rhythm on the campus; the students were engaged, the faculty was engaged. Anna Maria, in recent years, has added spe- cialty programs, such as a graduate program in health emergency management. How criti- cal is that to driving up enrollment? One of the things we have to do is stabilize the undergraduate enrollment. So looking at the spe- cialties at the undergraduate level, (they're) critical to our success. Building on those, strengthening our faculty, internship availabilities, making sure that the classroom experience (is) a good one for the undergraduate — that pays the bills. What hap- pens in the graduate and online programs are the things that we really want to do to advance. So, yes, it's really to advance the institution at a whole dif- ferent level. We're seeing quite a few qualified women accede to the role of college president. Generally speaking, is there something extra that they bring to the table? I'm joining the ranks of three very accomplished women here in the Worcester area (Laurie Leshin, Gail Carberry and Susan West Engelkemeyer). But over the course of my career, I've had great men- tors, both male and female. As long as you are bringing to the table the best quality leadership, budgetary experience, making sure your manage- ment style is fair and equitable … I don't see a big difference who I've worked with — either male or female — nor do I think I'm bringing anything totally different from the perspective of a female president. n THETICKER In The File Mary Lou Retelle From 'stand-in' to standing out SHOP TALK $2.5M 1,400 n Percentage of senior managers who say support staffers are more valued now by their companies than they were 10 years ago. 60% This interview was conducted and edited for length by Rick Saia Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer 65 >> n Number of U.S. patents awarded to the University of Massachusetts during its 2015 fiscal year (ended June 30), a record for the five-campus system. Source: Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Source: University of Massachusetts Source: OfficeTeam TITLE: President, Anna Maria College, Paxton RESIDENCE: Worcester EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, Merrimack College; master's degree, Northeastern University Mary Lou Retelle, President, Anna Maria College, Paxton n Number of manufacturing jobs added across Massachusetts in July, accounting for more than 19 percent of all new jobs in the Bay State, according to preliminary numbers. Go to WBJournal.com to watch a video clip from our interview with Mary Lou Retelle. On WBJournal.com Source: Fallon Health n Net loss for Fallon Health, of Worcester, for the second quarter (ended June 30), which the insurer blamed on the "continuing challenges in the evolving health care environment." P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I 8 Worcester Business Journal • August 31, 2015 www.wbjournal.com

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