Worcester Business Journal

30 2018 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com Central Mass. colleges will face funding and recruiting challenges in 2018 I n 2017, Central Massachusetts colleges took a pause on construc- tion that helped transform the look of many campuses. The most notable new space from this year was Mount Wachusett Community College's Bemis Student Center, built in just 100 days this sum- mer, but the bulk of the new construc- tion will come next year. Highlights include Worcester Polytechnic Institute opening its $49-million Foisie Innovation Studio & Messenger Hall in fall 2018 and College of the Holy Cross Three new college presidents T hree Central Massachusetts colleges saw changes in their president's office: Becker College, Mount Wachusett Community College and Quinsigamond Community College. James Vander Hooven was the first new president locally, starting at Gardner's Mount Wachusett in February and replacing Daniel Asquino, who was president of the college for nearly 30 years. At Quinsigamond Community College, Luis Pedraja took over for Gail Carberry, a 10-year president, in July. Pedraja joined QCC from the Peralta Community College District in California, where he was interim vice president of academic affairs. At Becker College, Robert Johnson, the presi- dent since 2010, left to become chancel- lor of UMass Dartmouth following the spring semester. Johnson took over at Becker at a time of relative upheaval for the small college, and steadied Becker to improve scores of incoming students, endowment and capital investment. Several of Becker's signature programs also began during that time, including its agile mindset course of study and creation of Massachusetts Digital Games Institute. One of his top lieutenants, Nancy Crimmin, took over at the start of the fall semester as Becker's first female president in nearly a century. She will oversee the opening in January of the $7.3-million Colleen C. Barrett Center for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the formation of a new three-year plan, and the start in fall 2018 of an exploratory program allow- ing freshmen to test 10 different majors in two semesters. Holy Cross weighs changing Crusader name T he College of the Holy Cross is the latest college to consider changing away from an athletics name some may find offensive. The Worcester college is weighing its Catholic traditions and its longtime sports identity versus a growing feeling in recent years that many nicknames – often depicting Native Americans – should no longer be used. Holy Cross spent the fall 2017 semes- Top education stories of 2017 Continued on Page 32 A tumultuous year E d u c a t i o n BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor opening its $95-million Luth Athletic Complex. The upcoming year will be one in which smaller campuses struggle with declining interest from international students, finding the right balance between speech rights and harmful actions, and budget challenges from the state force more belt-tightening at UMass Medical School and state uni- versities in Fitchburg, Framingham and Worcester. International students look elsewhere A survey released in November by the Institute of International Education found an average of 7 percent in a decline of international students enroll- ing in American colleges. The trend started in the fall of 2016, as interna- tional enrollment flattened. This year, more than half of colleges cited the visa application process or visa denials, and the social and political environment in the U.S. as reasons for the decline. If there's a bright spot, it's in New England, where enrollment was up 2 percent, the only region to still see an increase, according to the Institute of International Education. In other areas, the drop was far more severe: 20 percent in the region including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, and 16 percent in two regions covering much of the Rockies and Great Plains areas. Potentially uneasy campus climates Colleges in other parts of the country have had to find the right balance between speeches guaran- teed by the First Amendment and those inciting hateful statements. Framingham State University found five messages with racial slurs targeting black students starting in October, and asked the FBI to help investigate. Central Massachusetts colleges have, in many cases, far to go with diversify- ing their student bodies. Of the area's largest schools, Framingham State and Fitchburg State have the most diversity, as the only schools with Hispanic, Asian and black students comprising more than 20 percent of enrollment, said the U.S. Department of Education. Less state aid State aid formerly paying a majority of college costs now covers just a frac- tion. Funding has dried up, not just in Massachusetts but nationally, as states are strapped for money to meet other pressing needs. From 2008 to 2016, higher education funding in Massachusetts dropped by 16 percent when adjusted for inflation, or more than $1,600 per student, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Massachusetts even cut less than most states. In the meantime, tuition rose by 29 percent at Massachusetts public schools during that time, according to the center. The issue may be likely to get worse before it gets better for schools like Worcester State, Framingham State, Fitchburg State and UMass Medical School. Associate Vice-President of Facilities Management Jon Wyman (left) and Dean of Students Jason Zelesky, outside the MWCC Bemis Student Center, one of the few significant higher ed construction projects in 2017. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (from left) master's candidate Yao Shen, professor Yuxiang "Shawn" Liu, and Ph.D. candidate Chaoyang Ti work on a fiber optic tweezer device. Worcester State University students outside the bursar office, waiting to pay their tuition. Nancy Crimmin W

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