Good afternoon and welcome.

Thank you for joining me for this year’s State of the University address, which I am pleased is now in person. Let me say that I am grateful for all the ways we have come back together as a community since the pandemic.

I want to begin by expressing my enormous gratitude to all of you here — and those who were not able to join us. Each of you, in your own way, contributes greatly to who we are as a community, to what we are as an institution, to how we fulfill our mission, and to the ways we have impact in the world. In all of this, our focus is — as it should be — on our students. But I also recognize how essential is the way we all work together not only to serve our students, but also to support and empower one other, and advance and embolden Clark.

My approach to this annual event has been to respect the occasion with the formality of prepared remarks. In my remarks, I hope to focus attention on what I as president feel to be most relevant at this time, be straightforward and sincere, and do what I can to inspire our community to believe in our great promise and potential. It is a privilege for me every year to be able to give this address, and I feel honored that so many of you came to participate today. My remarks will take about 20 minutes, and then I will invite any questions that I or other members of the leadership team who are here can answer.

***

Today’s headline is this: The state of Clark University is strong and we have an opportunity to make it even stronger and more durable in the face of real and growing challenges. The latter, I am certain, is not news to any of you. We have talked many times before about daunting headwinds spun up by dramatic changes across the higher education landscape. At the same time, there is good reason to be optimistic and confident in our future, starting with the tremendous accomplishments that occurred at Clark this past year.

We made significant improvements in our physical facilities, including the opening of the Center for Media Arts, Computing, and Design, an exciting new hub for creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Work to preserve Goddard Library, expected to be completed this summer, is vital to ensuring that our largest building, one in poor repair, will remain an academic and research cornerstone for decades to come.

Our commitment to our Main South neighborhood is undiminished. This past fall, we expanded the University Park Partnership Scholarship zone by 26 streets, giving an additional 1,100 Worcester students the opportunity to attend Clark tuition-free. We also entered into a unique partnership with the Jeremiah’s Inn food pantry that gives us a Worcester ally to help fight food insecurity in the community and on campus while creating a pipeline of employment opportunities for student workers to assist with food pantry operations.

Last month, Clark launched the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice, formerly known as International Development, Community, and Environment, to amplify our focus on global challenges and perpetuate that department’s incredibly important work in the world. I want to acknowledge, in particular, Director Laurie Ross’s great leadership in this regard. The University also attracted campus-distinguished researchers and scholars from around the country to help launch the Center for Geospatial Analytics, directed by Hamed Alemohammad. The event allowed us to gain significant new attention in an area in which Clark was a pioneer. Interim Dean David Jordan has bold plans for the School of Management, which he, his faculty, and his staff are advancing with great energy and conviction around the as-yet-untapped potential for the school.

As is the case every year, I’m heartened by the arrival of new faculty to campus, whose special talents and fresh perspectives energize our classrooms, labs, and art studios. They have the privilege of joining an exceptional faculty who not only are experts in their fields, but who regularly go above and beyond to help their students prepare to navigate the world beyond Clark with curiosity, confidence, and empathy. Imagine being a student and having the opportunity to understand the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare from scholar Justin Shaw; to learn about the root causes of the devastating Maui wildfires from geographer Abby Frazier; or to explore coastal ecosystems with Deb Robertson.

The extraordinary things our students accomplish every day in the classroom and through their extracurricular endeavors on campus and in the community is the very best reason to be excited about the future. A cohort of sophomores have been central to the thoughtful and diligent design of a new honors experience that will be introduced next semester. And you may recall that when an earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, a group of Clark students used their GIS skills to hold a mapathon, which contributed key information to disaster agencies aiding in recovery efforts. I was also fortunate last March to attend the Carnegie Hall debut of the Clark Choir under the direction of Cailin Marcel Manson. The performance was truly soaring and impressive, and, for Clark, historic.

I relish hearing about our students’ achievements in multiple areas. Sophomore Noah Katz, who I have gotten to know as one of our presidential scholars, showed amazing ingenuity and ambition when he created The Umpire Channel — a big idea that he has successfully brought to the marketplace. Emily Rooney last summer worked on the front lines of the Boston housing crisis, helping to place people desperate for shelter, including the recently incarcerated. And a group of Clark students led by Kate Roller, Abby Smith, Kate Galvinhill, Kai Moore, and Jonah Kipnis launched the Clark Student Voices Literary Magazine, which not only provides a wonderful forum for student writing but also speaks to the enduring truth that the world will always need poets.

You can also see and sense our strength through other measures. Our students and their families are overwhelmingly very positive about the experience they are having at Clark. Applications for undergraduate admissions are at a record high, over 11,000 this year due to international student interest. Student enrollments in many of our graduate degree programs are also at historic highs. Importantly, Clark is strong in part because we are learning more about how we operate through data and market research and other benchmarking efforts that reveal strengths to be celebrated and shortcomings to be addressed.

These are all important accomplishments and advances, and I congratulate everyone who has played a role in them. Of course, there are many other achievements over the past year not mentioned here that we are proud of and grateful for, and we’re poised and ready for even more.

***

I had begun preparing today’s remarks back in December when I came across a Chronicle of Higher Education daily briefing exclaiming that colleges and universities were failing to “meet the moment.” While the piece was primarily about what was happening on college campuses following October 7, it cited a larger set of problems for higher ed leaders. The author, Rick Seltzer, wrote: “Even before the conflict between Israel and Hamas stoked turmoil on American campuses, presidents struggled to rally support in the face of hostile lawmakers, controlling donors, restive students, angry alumni, uneasy faculty members, tight budgets, and increasingly skeptical families.” As the author notes, these pressures aren’t new and it’s impossible to pick up a newspaper of late and not see a litany of criticisms against higher ed as a sector: that we’re elitist and out of touch; we charge too much for the value of what we provide; we are hostile to the full spectrum of political, social, and ideological thought; tenure has been corrupted to protect unproductive faculty; students are coddled; DEI work is excessive; there are too many administrators. The list goes on.

To be sure, we have our defenders, too: People who appreciate what a liberal arts education and college degree represent for lifetime earning potential, career options, networking, and personal growth, among other benefits, and who understand that a broadly educated electorate is crucial to civic engagement and the preservation of democracy.

Now, Clark is no stranger to the concept of meeting our moments — we’ve done so through wars, struggling economies, political and social upheaval, and shifting cultural and educational landscapes. I’ll give two examples.

Decades ago, at the time I was a student here, there was serious talk about relocating Clark University out of the Main South neighborhood. Relations with the neighbors had grown strained, bordering on hostile, and the area was experiencing a dramatic socio-economic decline. Put simply, our response to that moment boiled down to one question: Do we embrace this neighborhood or escape it? President Dick Traina made the decision that not only would the University stay put, but that we would partner with the city and the neighborhood to strengthen and embolden both Main South and Clark. That singular decision — a wise one, I believe — to double down on our investment, engagement, and collaboration here confirmed and amplified our values, influenced our approach to fulfilling our mission partly through community engagement and experiential learning, and ultimately has shaped the institution we are today.

A more contemporary example of meeting a moment is the adoption of the Becker School of Design & Technology, which we executed within 30 days. Our decision to incorporate Becker’s internationally recognized game design program into our Clark ecosystem may have seemed, to some, counterintuitive at the time, but we seized upon an opportunity to widen our academic reach by merging the best of our liberal arts education with an area of study that has asserted itself in the cultural, technological, and career marketplace. I hope you all see as I do the impact we are enjoying from that decisive action.

But let’s challenge ourselves by turning Seltzer’s declaration into a question: Are we meeting the moment? I’d like to speak to this in several ways because there are several moments in which we find ourselves.

To start, let’s address the situation that prompted the Chronicle piece: October 7 and its aftermath. It certainly was a profound moment — here at Clark and throughout higher education.

Did Clark meet that moment?

I believe we did, especially in fulfilling our first and foremost responsibility to maintain a safe and supportive environment for all students on campus, regardless of religious identity, nationality, or political views. I appreciate that there are many differing perspectives on this and not everyone may agree with me. But as a university, we met that immediate moment by leaning into one of our greatest strengths — our sense of community and our commitment to one another. We held firm to our mission as a university — promoting Clark as a place of learning, inquiry, experimentation, and discourse. A place where our students expand their knowledge, test their ideas, hone their beliefs, and further develop their sense of self in concert with others. Universities are purpose-built to bring together different people with different experiences to learn from each other. Through that lens then … yes … I believe we met an incredibly painful moment well. Having said that, the situation in the Middle East is tragically far from being resolved and will require us to continue to act compassionately and thoughtfully as a community, holding dear our purposes, principles, and policies. I am confident we will.

Let’s now consider the question: Are we meeting this moment — a seemingly existential one —for higher education, in general?

The challenges here are significant and troubling. We are experiencing an unprecedented, full-on assault to the bedrock principles of higher education from some within the highest levels of our government and regularly through media coverage and commentary. Ironically, many of the loudest voices castigating what they refer to as “elitism” on college campuses are coming from those who have benefited from earning degrees from some of our most elite universities.

This very public and, I believe, unfounded rancor has deepened already existing concerns about the value of higher education. It also exacerbates troubling trends we have been anticipating and planning for.

Parents are understandably concerned about the rising costs of college, and others in the public are openly expressing skepticism that a college education is a viable pathway to a better life.

Beyond that, the very real challenge of the “demographic cliff” is looming. The number of traditional college-aged children is expected to decline precipitously after 2025 — especially here in the Northeast — leaving us to contend for fewer students in one of the most competitive marketplaces in recent history. At the same time, fewer high school students are even considering higher education, so overall demand is down. And most institutions, including our own, are pressured to provide higher discount rates on tuition, which has a direct bearing on net tuition revenue. Increasingly, prospective students and their families are appealing for more and more merit aid, which other institutions are able to provide far more readily that we can.

Finally, this moment in higher education is as challenging as we’ve seen with respect to public discourse and the understanding of the value of a college education, as well as the lack of awareness and appreciation for research universities’ contributions to the innovations, products, and technology that enhance our lives.

This is a moment we must meet with an aspirational mindset and determined continued progress. We have no choice but to adapt and advance while remaining firmly committed to our core values and mission. And I know we can.

***

Now, to the biggest and most important question: Are we meeting this moment for Clark University?

I would say yes, and no.

Without question, we have stepped into this moment with energy, a more open mind, and a clearer sense of ambition. We also have taken on and successfully completed several big, consequential projects. A new building, additional land near campus, and a new division to support student success are all now — or could be — instrumental in our ability to compete for students and enhance the education we offer. Yet, it is clear to me, and perhaps many of you, that the moment Clark is facing today demands our sustained energy, focus, and creativity.

You may remember that my first State of the University address focused on establishing at Clark what I called a “culture of possibility” — a new mindset of imagining more for Clark, a kind of license to think bigger, an institutional posture of greater aspiration and ambition, and an enabling of change for the better. I believed then, and still do now, that this is an essential ingredient for advancing our University. From that springboard, we launched a planning process which culminated in a strategic framework — a framework that we’ve called Clark Inspired because I believe as an institution we are inspired by our greatest potential and because the pathways to achieve that potential are inspired by you.

Embracing a culture of possibility has allowed us to think more expansively. But to truly maximize the opportunities that emerge through a culture of possibility, we also need to act differently as a university and through that action be truly different and outstanding. We have already begun to do some of this hard work, but there is much still to be done related to our financial health and operating model. Our costs continue to draw too heavily on our available resources, and that is not sustainable.

Candidly, I had hoped at this point we would be in the mode of doing more with more, and I know what many of you are thinking right now: How and why should we continue to believe in a culture of possibility when we are seemingly faced with the same budget pressures we experienced in the past? My answer to you is this: Without the culture of possibility, we will never get to where we want to be. In fact, we are at a point where the way in which we operate is the greatest constraint on what is possible. And our current financial challenges are not the same as they were in the past.

So, how did we get here? The root cause takes us back to periods of underinvestment, which have caused deficits in the condition of our physical plant and technology infrastructure; our ability to make strategic investments in our academic programming, student resources, scholarships, and financial aid; and our ability to invest in our most important asset — our students, faculty, and staff. And while we lost ground in these areas, other institutions gained ground.

Making these investments is essential to our ability to fulfill our educational mission, provide our students with the experience and support they expect, compete effectively in a very challenging market and, even more critically, strengthen our reputation and enhance our impact.

What does this actually mean?

It means, simply put, we need to work differently as a university. We cannot continue to muddle through by trying to solve each year’s budget challenges with short-term, stop-gap measures. We need a much more comprehensive reset of how we operate.

The reason we need to work differently is not only because of under-investments. It is also because we need to catch up vis-a-vis our competitors who made the investments that we did not, and we have to do that with more limited resources due to growing enrollment and competitive pressures (which yield lower revenue). The combination of lower undergraduate enrollment, higher costs (driven by higher demands for financial aid, as well as higher expectations for better facilities and more support/resources/programs for our students), and the need to catch up with missing investments makes our operational model unsustainable because we are not generating enough revenue to offset our costs.

It means we must achieve three things: stable and sustainable undergraduate enrollment with increasing net revenue; a more efficient organizational structure based on streamlined educational offerings and student services aimed at outcomes, supported by a faculty and administration of appropriate and sustainable scale; scalable graduate, professional, and alternative programs (summer and certificate, for example) that contribute net revenue and, in some cases, take advantage of otherwise idle campus facilities.

It will also certainly mean making difficult choices and being laser focused on our highest strategic priorities. It will mean being innovative and flexible. It will mean doing more not with less, but rather doing more with what we have. And it will mean, very likely, that we stop doing some things that aren’t advancing us in alignment with our existing strengths and priorities. Most importantly, it will mean that we have to be in partnership with one another in this work. We are all in this together, and all of us have a vested interest in the health and vitality of this University over the coming decade and far beyond that.

What it does not mean are cuts and saving money alone. This is also about working more effectively and efficiently.

When and how will this all happen? Not today and not overnight. All-in-all, it will likely take one to three years to truly reset the way we function. But, when we successfully do so, we will be on a more sustainable and stable course for the future.

In the coming weeks and months, my administration will be working with our faculty governing committees, Staff Assembly, and the Board of Trustees to consider what changing our operational model means and precisely what that will entail. This includes considering how we are organized, how we function, and how to better maximize the advantage of our small size and the unique combination of research and liberal arts at our core.

As we develop specific recommendations, we will look forward to your ideas and suggestions. Again, we need to do this together and with a sense of urgency, and, once again, I’m confident that we will.

***

So let me conclude by saying that our strongest days are still ahead if we can successfully tackle some current challenges. I see clearly for Clark’s future:

• An institution of enduring, distinguished character — widely recognized for our strong sense of community and institutional values, where the individual thrives and community engagement is at the core of the student experience.
• An institution of consequential reach and impact — a relevant and potent force with increasing influence and deeper, broader contributions to society.
• An institution that rises to our moments — leading the way by anticipating evolving needs, surmounting challenges, and harnessing emerging opportunities.

We can achieve this most immediately by:

• Continuing to develop our academic strengths and fortify our educational and research programs. Some of you are deeply involved in work to define what this might look like going forward. Certainly, it will involve providing more opportunities for experiential and engaged learning, an honors experience, and new undergraduate and graduate programs in areas that are of high interest and appeal, and that better leverage our academic strengths.
• More successfully enrolling and retaining interested undergraduates. Not simply by attracting more applicants, but by elevating Clark as a first-choice option because we offer a truly distinctive and distinguished academic experience.
• Establishing a new School of Climate, Environment, and Society that harnesses our considerable strengths in climate research, GIS, environmental studies, and related societal challenges and implications.
• Embarking on a capital campaign that inspires others’ investments in our University because they see both great potential and our ability to deliver on positive, consequential change. There is no higher priority for me than to bring additional resources to Clark. We have had many well-attended alumni gatherings around the country, reflecting a growing energy and enthusiasm. I’ll be working to ensure that momentum continues. At the same time, I’m focused very much on major gifts, which can and often do take time, but I’m encouraged by the meetings I’ve been having so far. An important motivator in raising funds, especially major gifts, is not only the impact donors can enable, but also the overall financial health and efficiency of the institution to which they are giving.

I believe that as the current-day stewards of Clark we must do our part not just to respond to today’s challenges but to proactively rise above them in order to ensure a sustainable future for our University. Our actions now and in the years ahead will help ensure that the Clark education we provide to undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students will continue to be as distinctive, rigorous, and impactful as ever.

Clark is built for the kind of unconventional and independent thinking that allows us to forge our path with confidence and curiosity, eager to discover what awaits, and compelled to act with determination when our moments arise. Please join me in working together to meet this moment for Clark so that the state of our University remains strong.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

David Fithian ’87
President