Baker applauds creativity behind potential college merger
A proposed merger between Salem State University and Montserrat College of Art shows a "willingness to think a little differently than many others do," Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday.
Separately, he praised Becker College in Worcester for being part of the state's "creative economy."
Montserrat College and Salem State University presidents announced in February they had started negotiations to merge the small, private art school with the large public university located in Salem.
"I do think it shows some real leadership on the part of the organization and a willingness to think a little differently than many others do," Baker said about the potential merger. He spoke at the Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
Located in Beverly, Montserrat College of Art has less than 400 students. When the merger talks were announced, Montserrat President Stephen Immerman said it is difficult for a small college to provide resources to maintain and grow competitive advantages for working artists.
"By joining Salem State, we believe that we can ensure that the Montserrat name and the college's tradition of excellence and student-centered education will remain available for future generations of aspiring artists and designers," Immerman said in a statement on the art college's website.
The merger is still in the exploratory phase, according to a statement from the two college presidents.
Salem State University is one of the state's largest public universities with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Salem State President Patricia Maguire Meservey said a merger would create a unique academic program, "serving students who find their passion in the arts."
During a question and answer portion of Baker's speech, Immerman, the president at Montserrat, asked the governor what he thinks about the "creative economy." Baker said it is much bigger than most people in the state realize.
"I like it when folks in the arts community talk about the creative economy because the creative economy is a very big space. As technology has made more and more opportunities to think creatively about all kinds of things possible, the universe associated with the creative economy gets bigger," Baker said.
He used Becker College in Worcester as an example of growth in the "creative economy," describing it as one of the country's leading research and educational institutions for computer gaming.
"I think of gaming as being part of the creative economy. I mean the work that's involved in actually building those games and thinking creatively about how to engage multiple players, in many cases on a global basis, on a very big field is a hugely creative activity," Baker said. "It involves an enormous amount of multi-disciplinary energy and activity that runs all the way from understanding programming and computer code to understanding art in a very special, unique and different kind of way."
Baker said it is becoming very important for state officials to come up with a way to talk about the creative economy in a way that people understand.
"It's a very big universe, and I think sometimes people think it's a lot smaller than it is because they think about, in what I would describe in a very traditional, and what I would argue, not a very relevant, way."
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