Briefing: College leadership changes

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There have been many leadership changes at Central Massachusetts colleges and universities over the last few years, and given the shrinking average tenure of the American college president, it's reasonable to predict that some future presidents won't stick around for as long as their predecessors did.

According to the American Council on Education, the average length of service for a college president dropped to seven years in 2011, from 8.5 in 2006. The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) said the decline mirrors that of presidents in other types of institutions. But CIC was nonetheless wary, perhaps with good reason: colleges and universities have had to work harder to attract students as enrollment has dipped following a swell during the Great Recession.

“The decline in length of service is troubling when considering the need for stability of institutional leadership in challenging times,” the CIC report read.

What’s happening in Central Mass.?

The tenures of four college presidents in Central Massachusetts who left most recently or have announced their departures were fairly average — or a little better —- by today's standards:

• Dennis Berkey led Worcester Polytechnic Institute for nine years before he stepped down in May 2013. • Timothy J. Flanagan left his position at Framingham State University in May 2013 after seven years to become president at Illinois State University (he has since resigned). • Jack Calareso is leaving Anna Maria College, effective July 1, after seven years. He will assume the presidency at St. Joseph's College on Long Island. • Fitchburg State University Robert Antonucci will retire in 2015, the school said last week.

Who’s next to lead?

WPI will welcome its new president, Laurie Leshin, in June. A former NASA scientist, Leshin leaves behind her post as dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Framingham State hired F. Javier Cevallos, former president of Pennsylvania's Kutztown University, effective July 1, and Anna Maria appointed its executive vice president, Mary Lou Retelle, to serve as interim president until Calareso's permanent replacement is found. Fitchburg State plans to launch a search for Antonucci's successor in the fall.

What about other recent changes?

The new leaders will join other relative newcomers in the region, including Susan West Engelkemeyer, who was appointed president of Nichols College in Dudley in 2011; The Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., who took over at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in 2012, and Barry Maloney, who became president of Worcester State University in 2011. n