Assumption College
Address: 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609
Phone: 508-767-7000
Website: www.assumption.edu
Number of Students: 2,100
Number of Employees: 634 (including contract employees)
Top Executive: Thomas R. Plough, Ph.D., President
Product or Service: Higher Education
Year Founded: 1904
Connecting education with the "real world"
Less than a month after graduating from Assumption College this spring, Jonathan Weaver began his "wish list job" as a development specialist at the South Worcester Neighborhood Center (SWNC).
His work contributes to SWNC’s economic development expansion efforts. A Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Grant, awarded in 2004, includes a commitment to more affordable housing. Weaver is developing a marketing plan for 11 affordable housing units expected to be on the market by the end of 2006, with monthly payments no higher than $750. Writing advertisements, attending first-time homebuyer orientations, and collaborating with members of a Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s leadership program are all part of his day-to-day tasks.
"I’m learning a lot from everyone I work with," says Weaver. "It’s been a great transition into ‘the real world.’" He credits his Assumption education with preparing him to relate to adults as peers, both with professors and college administrators. Weaver was president of Assumption’s Student Government Association, where he led a five-person executive board and a 44-member Senate.
After graduation, Weaver, a native of Danielson, CT, wanted to stay in Worcester. He sees it as an affordable city with good career opportunities. According to a Worcester Regional Research Bureau talent retention report, undergraduate students who are engaged in the community are more likely to remain in the area after graduation: 47 percent of those who worked off-campus and 41 percent of those who participated in internships in the region planned to stay here.
Assumption is working hard to engage its students in the world off-campus. In 2004-05, more than one third of undergraduate students spent more than 93,000 hours serving as community volunteers, interns, in service learning or in work-study programs with 130 different organizations.
Consistently ranked among the top-tier colleges in the Northeast, Assumption has prospered and grown in the last century to become Worcester’s largest campus, with more than 175 park-like acres and a physical plant designed to meet the growing technological needs of today’s students. Primarily a residential college, more than 90 percent of undergraduates reside on campus all four years.
The college offers more than 75 academic programs, complemented by a growing number of online courses. Experiential learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, such as internships, practicums, student teaching, Community Service Learning and study abroad provide additional opportunities to develop critical thinking skills.
"We have one of the region’s most comprehensive business programs," notes Mark P. Bilotta, Executive Assistant to the President, with both credit and non-credit courses at the associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree levels. Business Studies is currently the most popular undergraduate program.
Undergraduate science majors study in the college’s gleaming Testa Science Center. Some students are engaged in research opportunities with faculty, while others work off-campus with renowned scientists in Worcester’s medical research community.
Many students serve as student teachers in local and regional elementary and secondary schools as part of their undergraduate education and graduate-level special education programs. Social and Rehabilitation Counseling students intern with regional agencies and organizations, gaining insights into how a diverse community requires a unique support system.
More than a century after its founding in Worcester, the College continues to fulfill its mission, which begins, "Assumption College, rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition, strives to form graduates known for critical intelligence, thoughtful citizenship and compassionate service."
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