Q&A with Barry Maloney, president, Worcester State University
Photo/Christina H. Davis
Barry Maloney, President, Worcester State University
After nearly 20 years in administration at Westfield State University, Barry Maloney has headed east to Worcester State University where he took over as president of the school as of July 1. He replaced Janelle Ashley, who retired from the post at the end of June. Maloney's last position at Westfield State was as vice president of student affairs, although he served two stints as interim president. Here, Maloney discusses his career path as well as how taking risks comes into play in higher education.
How did you end up working in higher education?
I had plans to get into city and town management. But when I graduated, it was a similar period to what we're dealing with now. The economy was struggling, so public jobs were tough to come by. When I was in graduate school, I worked in residential life. So I started looking for jobs in higher education and there was an opportunity at Westfield State. I thought I was going to be there for a short period time, but ended up staying almost 20 years later.
How are Westfield State and Worcester State different?
I think there are some differences that position Worcester as really unique. One is the fact that Worcester State is in an urban environment. That's a real advantage. There are a lot of shared resources and I think that's a real advantage as well. Worcester State also has some very strong programs in the sciences and I think that's going to position us very, very well — and our graduates well — in the future.
What are some of your goals for Worcester State?
One thing that I am trying to work on and take from my experience at Westfield is making the campus a little more residential. We don't have the luxury that Westfield State has in that they have a lot of land — so much that they're trying to get rid of some. In Worcester, we're kind of landlocked. I'd like to try to come up with a solution and creatively add some beds to the campus because I do think the residential component adds to a positive student experience.
You've stated publicly that you plan to start a capital planning committee. What projects will that group be focused on?
The institution has been working for the past two years, maybe longer, on building a new athletic complex here on campus. We're looking to build out a new 100,000-square-foot facility. The approximate cost is about $40 million. It's tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2015. We also have a new residence hall on tap. What my job will be — and where the planning committee comes into play — is that we need to have campus-wide input as to the amenities that are needed.
What are your thoughts about the cost of higher education today and how that can be addressed?
I don't think there's a college president who's not concerned about the cost of higher education. The steps that this campus took back in June at the board meeting showed how concerned our board is about cost. We took a portion of the money we had and put it back into student financial aid. We want to make Worcester State accessible. We're working our collective tails off to raise private dollars for scholarships. We're certainly looking at justifying every increased cost.
What's the toughest management lesson you've had to learn?
The toughest management lesson I think I continually have to learn is how to find the balance between when or when not to take risk. As public educators, we have to be good stewards of the money that we're given. But we are a business at the same time. There are times when we need to follow good business practices and good businesses will take risks at times. That's something I need to continue to work on as the leader of Worcester State and have had to work through during my career.
How does Worcester State fit into the global economy?
When half of the world lives in India and China, I think it is only good common sense to be working with our students to, A, acknowledge that and, B, strategically try to figure out how we can position our graduates to work in that kind of environment. No longer will our graduates be contemplating a move that is from Worcester to Boston or Worcester to Hartford. They'll be contemplating moving to Bangladesh or Hong Kong. We need to be preparing our students and one of the ways that we can do that is to start building in international education exchange opportunities.
What's kept you in higher education?
I come from a long line of people who attended and worked in public schools and public higher education. It's kind of been emblazoned in my persona. When I first started at Westfield it was pretty easy to see that I had a rapport with the students - there was some commonality in our backgrounds. I wanted to be someone who could help. I wanted to be someone who also was appreciative of the opportunities I had been given and was trying to give back. I feel like I've been doing that and I will continue to try to do that.
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Barry Maloney of Worcester State University on what he likes most about his job.
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