Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 15, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 11 problems in different ways. Each stu- dent takes those courses. "We're educating young people for jobs that do not yet exist, to solve problems that we've yet to identify, uti- lizing technology that hasn't been cre- ated," Johnson said, using the phrase more than once as he described the forward-thinking way Becker's tried preparing its students for whatever job awaits them. Johnson spends a lot of time think- ing about how industries have been disrupted by new technologies over generations. He name-drops innova- tors like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Elon Musk, and recites how indus- try employment has changed because of technological advancements. Disruptors, as Apple or Amazon are known, show that higher education can't and won't remain the same forev- er either, Johnson said. Landing on more solid footing Becker – where 62 percent of stu- dents major in animal studies, interac- tive entertainment or nursing – has done well during Johnson's tenure, with improving finances (tripling the endowment) and student scores (SAT scores rose 12 percent). The Princeton Review has named Becker a "Best College" for undergrad- uate education for five straight years, and last year, its video game design program was ranked fifth best in the world. This school year's enrollment of more than 2,100 was the college's high- est ever. But challenges remain. The school's graduation rate, at only 31 percent, trails the national average, while its cost, $54,000 for residential students this upcoming fall, is higher than the national average of $45,000, according to the College Board. Those were among the factors that in 2014 landed the college sixth of Washington Monthly's "Worst Colleges" list. Graduation rates are improving, Johnson said. A projected graduation rate for new students is now 49 per- cent, he said, citing a Higher Education Research Institute model. "The school has a unique culture," said student Chad Taylor, a Connecticut native studying business. Taylor, a resident assistant, has worked with Johnson in his role known as a presidential ambassador, a type of out- reach position between the college and student groups. "He's honestly one of the best people I've met," Taylor said. "He's sincere." A Worcester legacy Johnson became rooted in Worcester during his time at Becker. His wife, Michelle Jones-Johnson, is the vice president for talent develop- ment and chief diversity officer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The couple has two children in college in the Boston area. Johnson has also been active in the city, serving on various boards, includ- ing on the Saint Vincent Hospital Governing Board and as the chairman of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. Tim Murray, the chamber's president and CEO, said he was first impressed by how impactful Johnson could be when Murray was lieutenant governor and working with Becker to create MassDiGI, the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute, which Becker calls a first-of-its-kind video game incubator. "He was just relentless in terms of his advocacy," Murray said, also praising Johnson's work with the business and higher education communities. "He's one of these people who can just speak the language and work in the world of the business community and higher education and get both worlds to understand each other," he said. "It's a unique skill set he brings in that regard." The next challenge Johnson will lead a much bigger institution in UMass Dartmouth, chal- lenged by flat enrollment of 8,647 this year and a law school, UMass School of Law, striving to overcome budgetary woes. It became the state's only public law school in 2010. While Becker is one of several colleg- es in Worcester, UMass Dartmouth has an outsized role on its region, as the only four-year school close to the cities of Fall River and New Bedford. Becker National average Average annual cost $29,940 $16,127 Students graduating with debt 55% 46% Six-year graduation rate 31% 42% Salary 10 years after graduation $36,800 $33,500 Becker vs. national average Despite its improvements under Johnson, Becker is still more expensive with a lower graduation rate than the national average. Source: U.S. Department of Education "Someone handed me the baton with the institution when I came. I think it's now time for me to pass it along to someone to help it to evolve to that next level," he said of leaving Becker. Johnson never intended on a career in higher education – "Are you kidding me?" he remembers asking – until a family connection, a college president in Ohio, offered him a job while Johnson earned his master's degree. After seeing the administration work closely firsthand, he was sold. "I was seeing it and experiencing it in ways that, you can't learn it in a handbook. You can't learn it in a class," Johnson said. Like that, he was sold on his career. When Johnson was offered the UMass Dartmouth chancellorship in March, he called it his greatest honor to call his father and tell him the news. His father, a Korean War veteran who never finished college, was fixated, the younger Johnson said, on several col- leges, including UMass. "You could just hear it in his voice," Johnson said of telling his father the news, becoming emotional in describ- ing the pride he said his father feels at the UMass job. "Rarely ... do we as kids have the opportunity to do something that you can just see with your parents what it does for them in a very, very positive way," Johnson said. 2010 2016 SAT scores of incoming freshmen 932 1040 Enrollment 1,784 2,189 Student acceptance rate 77% 65% Endowment $1.36 million $4.28 million Capital investment $500,000 $1.45 million Becker during Johnson's tenure Source: Becker College W Johnson says colleges must teach for "jobs that do not yet exist, to solve problems that we've yet to identify, utilizing technology that hasn't been created."

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