Q&A with Debra Townsley, head of Nichols College, Dudley
Photo/Livia Gershon
Debra M. Townsley,
President, Nichols College
With credit markets dried up and unemployment soaring, many colleges and new college graduates have been hit hard by the current economic crisis. Here, Debra M. Townsley, president of Nichols College in Dudley, talks about how the business-focused school is working to keep going strong.
>> You’ve been president of Nichols College since 1998. How has the college changed in that time?
A decade is a long time when you look back. We have redone the general education core. We looked for new areas and specializations. We just added a new one — arts and entertainment. We have done a lot of buildings, new residence halls, a new athletic center, a new multi-purpose athletic stadium, renovations. We just opened apartment-style residence suites for seniors, and another one is opening this fall.
>> Do you see a lot of demand among students for specialization within business education like your sports management and arts and entertainment programs?
I think business is such a dynamic field and things change so quickly. The fundamentals of business are always there — you need accounting, you need your finance, you need marketing, you need management. But it becomes quite specialized in certain fields so I think students appreciate the opportunity to specialize and look at their careers in that way.
>> Have you had any trouble financing your new dorms, or any other projects because of the credit crunch?
We’re a business college and we have a business board. And we’ve been quite fortunate — knock on wood — through this process. We did not have variable rate debt. Some of my colleagues have been struggling with that. We have planned for [the dorms] financially so there’s no problem there. We only had about 40 percent of our endowment in equities, so that 40 percent took a hit like everyone else, but we put it in for the long term, and the other monies haven’t taken as big a hit.
>> Have you seen any negative effects at all from the financial crisis?
This didn’t impact any of the current financials, but certainly gifts, we’re wondering what’s going to happen there. The other area is student loans. This year we were prepared because we went out actually in April and told our families and students that they should apply early and often because we thought there might be some problems. We’re waiting to see what happens next fall.
>> With new MBA programs showing up at colleges all over the area, are you experiencing competition?
Actually so far we haven’t. We’re still the largest MBA program in Central Massachusetts, and I think our reputation and history speaks for itself. We are the only business college in Central Massachusetts — that is our expertise and what we’re known for. Actually, our numbers have been going up.
>> Do you feel like there’s an impact on students seeing things crumbling in the business world? Are they becoming more cynical?
We haven’t seen that. I think they see it as an opportunity for them to learn from this and to not do what they have seen happen. I think the graduating seniors are a little bit nervous about job opportunities because of all the layoffs. It’s going to be a difficult year I think, but not for well-prepared students.
>> Any advice for those students who are graduating in a difficult economic climate?
What we always say to students is that you want to build a strong resume while you’re here. That means getting involved, doing well, being involved in clubs or athletics. Get work experience. I’ve worked at colleges in the past where you ask students ‘What do you want to do?’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, I want to be a manager.’ Well, what do you want to do first? I think our students understand that when they go out they have to get their hands dirty, they have to learn a business from the ground up because that’s going to make them more successful managers.
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