WPI Forges Ahead After Berkey's Departure
Berkey
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Interim WPI President Philip Ryan: "I have seen presidents announce (their resignations) ahead of time and the transition works extremely well. I've also seen that work extremely poor where that person falls into a victory lap and becomes sort of a lame duck."
During his nine-year tenure at the helm of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Dennis Berkey was lauded for guiding the school through a growth spurt that saw the construction of eight new buildings, a 57-percent increase in student enrollment and the addition of new academic programs, including the country's first robotics engineering degree.
When he announced his retirement at May's commencement, Berkey said he and the board of trustees had agreed that a change in leadership was best for him and the school, and that he felt he had accomplished what he was hired to do.
So, with the school on an upward trajectory, rapidly expanding both its physical footprint and offerings to its students and the business community, how does it build on what Berkey and his administration set in motion? And what lies ahead for the school's 16th president?
Longtime trustee and 1965 graduate Philip Ryan was appointed interim president, stepping down from his position as board chairman. Ryan said “it's very clear” he will not be a candidate, but said his tenure as interim president will not be a period of slowed activity for WPI.
Ryan said he worked with the school's leadership to determine five focus areas of a strategic plan that serves as the school's guide until 2015, when WPI will mark its 150th anniversary. Those areas are how to renew and update the undergraduate program; determine growth opportunities in graduate programs; recognize future research opportunities; evaluate how to grow online offerings; and expand the school's visibility and reputation.
“What we're saying is, 'Let's take a look, and without a big, massive strategic planning process, let's go to work,' ” he said. “This is a very ambitious group of people. People want to work on these things.”
Hiring Goal: April 2014
In a memo to students, staff and faculty earlier this month, search committee Chair Jack Mollen and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Warner Fletcher outlined the plan for hiring a new president, saying the goal is to announce new leadership in April 2014 following a confidential search.
A 15-member search committee, including Ryan, was recently formed. Ryan said WPI will follow industry best practices and get input from all stakeholders, including students, faculty and alumni regarding the WPI wants in a new president, homing in on a profile that will best fit the school's needs.
“It's more important that we get it right than … do it quickly,” Ryan said. “I will be here as long as it takes to find the right president.”
This is not the first time WPI has had an interim president, Ryan said. He added that, although Berkey's departure may have seemed abrupt to the public, as he left 20 days following the announcement, it was actually the culmination of several months of talks between Berkey and the board of trustees.
Ryan said the board has annual conversations with WPI's leader about the school's future. In this case, Berkey would be following his two immediate predecessors and departing after nine years. But, Ryan said, there's nothing to read into that.
“There's no magical time (limit on presidencies). The schools need different things at different times,” he said. “WPI has grown significantly across virtually every dimension under Dennis Berkey's leadership.
“I have found this is a pretty high-pressure job and it's a very demanding job. Dennis wanted to pursue something else in his career.”
Ryan said Berkey's decision to leave when he did was helped by his being available to fill in until a suitable replacement was found.
“There's no one right way to do these things,” Ryan said. “I have seen presidents announce ahead of time and the transition works extremely well. I've also seen that work extremely poor where that person falls into a victory lap and becomes sort of a lame duck.
“(Berkey) set out to do what the board expected him to do and more. He exceeded the expectations that many of us had in 2004 when he arrived and did a marvelous job.”
Although the profile of the ideal candidate has yet to be molded, organizations that work closely with WPI have ideas about the trajectory they hope the school will follow. But mostly, that hope is that things remain status quo.
“I don't think that we really have anything that (we hope) will be better,” said Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC). “Our hope is that it will be very much business as usual.”
She said that under Berkey's leadership, WPI was active in workforce development programs, including the Biomanufacturing Educational Technology Center, which was launched at WPI's newly completed second building at Gateway Park, and whose building was aided by a a $6.6 million grant from the MLSC. Last year, the school matched $50,000 in funding that the MLSC provided to the state's Biomanufacturing Roundtable, an organization of industry stakeholders who include school faculty and business leaders from around the state which works to promote industry growth. Windham-Bannister said that financial move — which was also matched by the University of Massachusetts — helped WPI take on more of a leadership role in the organization.
In addition, more WPI students are selected for MLSC-backed biomanufacturing internships than from any other Bay State school, Windham-Bannister said.
“What I think that President Berkey did exceptionally well was to really plug into and understand the governor's strategy for life sciences in the state, the purpose of this life sciences initiative and to make WPI a very, very active player,” she said.
Stay The Course With Area Businesses
Tim Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he hopes Berkey's successor will continue to build on the school's relationship with the business community.
He said that the business community and WPI should seek ways to further help new businesses to grow, commercialize research at the school and keep graduates in the area.
“One of the areas we can all continue to work on is retention,” Murray said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect title for Jack Mollen and graduation year for Phil Ryan.
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