After achieving all-time highs in student enrollment and revenue at Plymouth State and The Sage Colleges, Palumbo joined WPI in 2015 and since new underrepresented minority student enrollment reached an all-time high while the rate of women in class jumped from its previous record of 34 percent to 43 percent. Last year, his op-ed about the inherent bias in standardized testing and WPI’s decision to quit the National Merit Scholarship Program ran in The Washington Post.
Palumbo advocates for food allergy issues since his eldest daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening allergies. He lives with wife, Krista, and daughters, Cecelia and Zoe.
What would a movie made about your career be called? “Changing the Game.” Higher education’s access and affordability no longer meet today’s needs. My goal is to improve how our industry admits and aids students.
What one Central Massachusetts location should everyone visit? Purgatory Chasm
Meet the other 40 Under Forty winners for 2017
Asmar N. Akman – Akman Enterprises Inc.
Brendan Aylward – Unified Health and Performance
Greta Bajrami Campoverde – Golden Group Construction Corp.
Kathryn Behan – UMass Memorial Healthcare
Heather Belair – Bay State Savings Bank
Neil Callahan – R.H. White Construction
Michelle L. Cote, Esq. – Law Offices of Richard S. Ravosa
Julianne Dahrooge – Chan & Dahrooge Financial Group, LLC
Patrick J. DiGregorio – Veterans Inc.
Courtney Ross Escobar – Doucette & LaRose, LLC
Robert Fecteau – BirchTree Bread Co.
Hilary Gardner – The Davis Cos.
Ashleigh C. Gelinas, Esq. – Gelinas & Ward, LLP
Avra Hoffman – BirchTree Bread Co.
Maryann C. Johnson – Oak Hill CDC
Kevin G. Johnson – O’Connor, Maloney & Company, P.C.
Heather Mangione – United Way of Central Massachusetts
Jay Merrill – Clifford & Rano Associates
Meghan E. Montaner – The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
Edward Murphy – Baystate Investment Fund
Joy Rachelle Murrieta – Main IDEA
Dr. Milka Njoroge, PharmD – Century Homecare, LLC
John T. Pitcavage – Endless Energy
Julia Randall, M.D. – Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
Keith Reardon – Commonwealth Consulting Group, LLC
Giselle Rivera-Flores – The Learning Hub & IgWorcesterMA
Jamie Salois – Atlas Distributing
Lindiana Semidei – Raices Latin Dance
Jody Staruk – Consigli Construction Co., Inc.
Francisco Torres – Town of Westborough
Abel Travis – Hanover Insurance Group
Elizabeth Tripp – Hanover Insurance Group
Alexis G. Vallejos – Columbia Tech
David Viens – Bowditch & Dewey, LLP
