Shop Talk: Prescription For Success
Photo/Livia Gershon
Charles F. Monahan Jr., President, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
For the past 12 years, lifelong Worcester resident Charles F. Monahan Jr. has been the president of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The college recently purchased a building at 36-40 Foster St. in Worcester for $1.5 million. Monahan said it will use the 30,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet of basement space, to add classrooms and academic space. The college anticipates bringing 400 more students to Worcester. Currently it has about 600 students in Worcester, 3,000 on its main campus in Boston, and 400 at a second satellite site in Manchester, N.H.
>> You’re downtown, which is sort of unusual for a college campus. What do you think of the location?
All our campuses are concrete campuses, like Harvard, like Suffolk. In Boston we’re on Longwood Avenue. We have 120 parking spaces for 3,000 students and 350 faculty and staff. So we take public transportation. Worcester is the same — we don’t have a campus. What you see is what you’ve got. Our students are serious students, they’re older students and this is what they want. They’ve already had their campus life, shall we say.
>> How did you end up setting up shop in Worcester?
We can’t expand anymore in Boston so in 1999 we looked at other options. We looked at Springfield, we looked at Rhode Island. And we chose Worcester, not because I live 5 minutes up the street, but we’re right across the street from Worcester Medical Center, which is now St. Vincent. And the UMass Memorial system and the medical school are very important to us as is Fallon Clinic.
>> What do you think about the ongoing attempts by some Worcester officials to get colleges and other nonprofits to make payments in lieu of taxes to the city?
There’s a lot of misconception on what is a PILOT. Boston has a PILOT that’s only on new construction, but it’s nowhere near where it would be if it was taxes. As you go for new permits you negotiate and they take into consideration the community benefits.
We have a report from the Association of Independent Colleges that 400 students contribute $10 million in spending to a community. That’s in books and tuition and housing and food. You can see we don’t have any cafeteria here, and our students go out to patronize the local establishments.
>> What exactly will you do with the new building, and what about the others you own?
We are in desperate need of large classrooms, so this new building will have one classroom that will hold 200 students and a second classroom will hold 225 students. We have laboratories in the front windows. You’ll see students in white coats just like in Boston. That’s been our claim to fame there.
We do have other buildings (in downtown), and we bought that for future needs and also to solidify our presence here. Down the road our greatest need is parking.
>> What new programs of study have you added recently? Are you planning more?
Worcester really is a satellite campus of Boston although it’s separately accredited from Boston. Boston has 31 degrees and certificates. We brought pharmacy, physician’s assistant and nursing here, and naturally we’re looking at bringing in some of the other health professions. We have a bachelor’s in dental hygiene so our graduates, can teach in the community colleges. Or they could go to work for the pharmaceutical companies. We’re also going to unveil a master’s in public health.
>> The health care industry is one of the few bright spots in the current economic downturn. Do you think there’s room for pretty much infinite growth within the industry?
Yes. I don’t see any slowdown in this with all the new developments. All the new drugs—it’s just unbelievable all the new therapies and drugs that have come out. Even with mail order and HMOs and clinics and drugs from Canada, right now the National Association of Chain Drugs Stores—just that one faction—has 7,000 open positions. Walgreens are opening up on every corner.
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