Clark U. was booming 3 years ago. How they got to laying off 30% of faculty
Three years ago Clark University in Worcester had its largest incoming class ever — 705 students. Since then, enrollment has been down 'more than expected,' according to John Magee, Clark's provost and vice president of academic affairs.
'It's certainly hard to say if it's a trend, but ... it's something we want to make sure that we're in front of and not just sitting around in two years saying: 'Oh, we should have done something,'' Magee said.
The incoming class is underenrolled by around 100 students — leading to lay offs of up 30% of faculty and 5% of staff, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Most of the layoffs Magee hopes will come from retirement and attrition over the next two to three years, he said.
Read more: How a college closing disaster led to new student protections in Mass.
The enrollment gain in 2022 was likely due to a bounce back from the pandemic, Magee said.
However, like many other small institutions across the United States and in the state, Clark is facing difficulties with enrollment because of a 'demographic cliff,' where there are fewer traditionally college-aged students in the United States.
He also pointed to declining trust in higher education and the questioning of its value as reasons for declining enrollment, Magee said.
While Clark is keeping a close eye on Trump administration actions, it isn't the reason for the layoffs, Magee said.
The layoffs at Clark come after Worcester Polytechnic Institute laid off 24 employees due to pressures from rising costs and uncertainty regarding the Trump administration's policies on higher education.
In Massachusetts, over two dozen colleges and universities have closed or merged over the past decade due to financial and enrollment difficulties.
Most recently, Eastern Nazarene College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Quincy, announced in June that it would close due to financial issues. Bard College at Simon's Rock said in November it would close its campus due to declining enrollment.
As Clark confronts a difficult enrollment reality, the institution is aiming to be 'proactive,' in part by reconfiguring its academic programs.
'Clark is reasonably well resourced. We have the time and the opportunities to make some large strategic changes over the next, frankly, four or five years,' Magee said.
'So this isn't a one-year knee jerk reaction. This isn't that we're in danger of closing or needing to merge, we really have the opportunity to start doing some things different here,' he said.
It will be divided into Climate, Environment & Society; Media Arts, Computing & Design; and Health & Human Behavior.
It is part of a strategic planning process that began in 2022 called Clark Inspired, Magee said. In January, the institution announced it would be launching a new School of Climate, Environment, and Society in fall 2025 and hired a new dean for it.
Read more: Why transforming vacant college campuses into housing isn't easy
'Part of the strategy is both addressing that value proposition — having areas that we have historic strength and newfound strength on — leaning into those as what Clark should really be well known for as a way of addressing kind of the overall enrollment trends, the demographic cliff, the public perceptions,' Magee said.
The planning process also includes eliminating lower-enrolled majors, including French and Francophone studies, Comparative Literature, Ancient Civilization and Studio Art. Studio Art will be maintained as a minor and a visual arts program will likely take its place, Magee said.
'Our reorganization gives us the foundation for having Clark thrive in the future for a long period of time, really meet the market, be more agile, ensure that we have outstanding student outcomes, both on the curricular side and the student life side so that students really want to be here. They're getting value out of what we have,' Magee said.
'That's both the challenge and the opportunity,' he said.
As Harvard fights Trump admin in court, professors are quietly dropping courses
Clark University to lay off up to 30% of faculty amid enrollment woes
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MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech from commencement
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