Cevallos to retire as Framingham State president

Photo | Courtesy | Framingham State University Framingham State University President Javier Cevallos

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By Grant Welker

Javier Cevallos, the president of Framingham State University since 2014, will retire after the upcoming 2021-'22 school year, he told the campus community in an email Thursday.

Cevallos said he timed his departure, coming after his eighth school year, for when the university should be running back at normal operations post-pandemic and once its strategic plan concludes. The process for its decennial accreditation will also start next year.

"All these milestones will help the next president work with the campus to shape the future of the University," Cevallos said in his message.

Cevallos' tenure has included an emphasis on diversity that has won the university national accolades and a rapidly growing endowment. The university has struggled with declining enrollment, a trend begun long before Cevallos' time as president. Framingham State's enrollment dropped by 10% last fall, at a time when many public-school enrollments dropped in particular, and 23% in the last quarter-century.

Framingham State also merged with the Danforth Art Museum, whose site a few blocks from campus now includes college courses.

The Ecuador-born Cevallos' coming departure will be the latest turnover among college presidents in Central Massachusetts. David Fithian began at Clark University in Worcester last fall, while the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and Nichols College in Dudley will both have new presidents this fall.

"This last year has been challenging for all, but it has also shown the resilience, commitment and energy of the entire campus," Cevallos wrote. " I will miss our students. I feel very fortunate to have encountered thousands of impressive young people over the years, many of whom are now fully engrossed in careers of their own. I am proud to know that Framingham State has made a difference in their lives, and I look forward to following their life achievements in the years ahead."