State of the University Address
January 29, 2026
Good afternoon and welcome! Thank you for joining me today for this year’s State of the University Address. It continues to be a privilege — and never something I take for granted — to gather each year with so many colleagues to reflect on where Clark is as an institution and to share my views on where I believe we need to go next.
You are here, I know, because you care about our institution. You are invested in it. You make it the remarkable place it is by the work you do every day. You are here — I believe — because you want the best for Clark. You also, understandably, want the best for yourself as a member of our professional community at a time that is fraught for higher education and for Clark. I want that, too; I want the best for Clark, I want the best for you, and, of course, I want the best for our students — because all three go hand-in-hand.
And, so, here, together, today, we take stock. And the first thing to account for is how hard I know you have been working. I see it every day, across campus, in every office and department, classroom, and laboratory. Please know how deeply grateful I am for what you do for our students, their families, for each other, and for our alumni. Your dedication to Clark animates this place every day. Thank you.
One highlight of this past fall was Professor Cynthia Enloe’s final lecture on October 16th. Many of you were there with me. It was a wonderfully grounding, engaging, and inspiring experience — the kind of experience that reminds us why we do what we do, what sustains our shared commitment to our students and each other, and how great communicating — great teaching — lights our path as individuals and as a society.
Professor Enloe’s lecture was titled “Feminist Curiosity is for these Dark Times” and while she spoke about her subject in a way that radiated her expertise, she also homed in on one of the most fundamental challenges of this time in our history: recognizing the truth. She said:
“If the truth doesn’t feel hard, then you don’t have the truth. If it doesn’t feel hard to find, it’s not the truth. If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, you’re probably not there yet.”
Essentially, she challenged all of us — as she has with countless students throughout her storied career at Clark — to be curious, to be skeptical, to be demanding, to be accountable for what we know and how we know it. The hard truths, she insisted, are the ones that unsettle us, provoke us, and prompt action.
A former president of the University of Chicago, Hannah Gray, whom I came to know during my time there, is well known for saying that “Education should not be intended to make people comfortable; it is meant to make them think.” Professor Enloe reminded us that facing the truth is often uncomfortable — as is disrupting our own accepted frames of reference, understanding, and meaning, as President Gray had in mind. But facing the truth is often the first step toward unlocking a commitment to action and then setting a course for that action.
I have spoken before about how institutions can sometimes avoid the truth by embracing perceptions about themselves — myths, essentially — that can be perpetuated for years, even decades. Confronting myths while revealing and embracing truth is essential if institutions are to transform themselves, as many colleges and universities must now do to overcome considerable challenges. Clark is no exception.
I have also spoken before about the need to take distinct action rather than go through the motions of contemplating change. We have done that over the past year. Yet there is clearly more to do. And, as we do more, one of the things we must confront is whether the pace of our actions is sufficient to effect the transformational change Clark now needs.
So, in today’s address, inspired by Professor Enloe’s call to seek and speak the hard truths, I want to frame my remarks around six truths about Clark University — six truths that underscore the difference we make to the world, the opportunities that lie before us, and the necessity to act more urgently.
The greatest risk we face today is standing still.
Nothing threatens Clark more than inertia and complacency. Nothing is more dangerous than assuming that what got us here will, unchanged, get us where we need to be.
Since last March, when I offered my last State of the University Address, I have been advancing a Transformation Plan with a seriousness that reflects the reality facing all of higher education. Many of you have contributed to the plan and have told me you support it. Others are less certain about their support and have expressed that to me as well. Very few of you, I believe, remain of the mind that the solution to our challenges is to keep doing what we’ve always done in the way we’ve always done it.
It’s true that none of us has the benefit of a crystal ball allowing us to see our future. It’s equally true that our plans don’t guarantee us the future we seek.
Across the country, the landscape not only remains challenging, but it is growing more so: demographic pressures, declining public confidence, rising operational costs, and intensified competition are forces I have spoken about in previous addresses. As uncomfortable as facing certain truths may be, all institutions must grow comfortable with some degree of adaptation and evolution, and with taking calculated risks.
Here at Clark, we are not ignoring our challenges or hiding from our difficulties. And we are starting to gain some traction in implementing important changes. Among the meaningful steps we have taken are those that rethink and reset how we operate, how we structure and support our programs, and how we prepare for a future that is sustainable.
The truth may be that our sustainable future will look very different than our past. I’ve heard some of you say that your greatest concern is that you won’t recognize Clark three years from now. I understand that. We all embrace Clark’s distinctiveness, our community, and all that is familiar and good and consistent about who we are as an institution. We don’t have to change everythingthat matters to us to thrive in the years ahead. But failure to change anything in the service of preserving a past that may no longer well serve us — and especially our students — is equally at odds with our institution’s innovative spirit and track record of perseverance.
My point is this: As the current stewards of this great institution, we, along with the trustees, must take an active role in charting a different course. This is not work we engage in lightly. And, as noted, the pace cannot be recreational. It is work we must embrace, with urgency and determination and a degree of risk-taking, if we want to truly fulfill our roles and obligations to preserve and promote this University.
So, the first, most fundamental truth we confront today is that standing still is not an option.
Clark is an institution worth fighting for.
If there is one truth that I hold as president of Clark more dearly than virtually any other, it is that Clark University matters to the world. We have something important and distinctive, authentic and real, to offer our students, our faculty and staff, our civic community, and communities across the globe. Our institutional history, record of achievements, mission, values, and expression are impressive, important, worthwhile, meaningful, and would be missed if 950 Main Street were no longer such a vibrant, engaged, and relevant place.
We were built just before the turn of the last century to forge a different path in higher education and, since then, have come to pride ourselves on unconventional thinking, on independence of mind, on navigating the imperfect and unexpected. We approach the world with confidence and curiosity, compelled to act with consequence when our moment arises.
In some ways, we are better prepared and better empowered than many institutions to meet the challenges higher education now faces because of our history and grounding, because of the strength of our community, and because of our demonstrated resilience in difficult times.
Indeed, rather than shying away from things that are difficult, we enjoy a pattern of being innovative, capable, and, well, scrappy. You can see it in academic programs, in the evolution of The Clark Experience, in partnerships across disciplines, and in areas like undergraduate admissions, which is pursuing new strategies rooted in conveying the offer of a Clark education even more effectively and personally to more students eager to learn about us.
My point here is that I believe — and I think you do too — that ours is an institution that matters and that fighting for transformative change now is fighting for Clark to be a distinctive and lasting institution of consequence.
We must recognize there is no single truth that solves all of our challenges or unlocks all of the opportunity that lies ahead.
Clark has long embraced difference, open-mindedness, and debate. It is part of our institutional DNA, reflected consistently in the daily lived experience of our campus.
We all might not, very likely do not, see the world the same way. And we will not always agree. That is expected — and should be embraced — at a university like ours.
- But disagreement cannot erode trust.
- Differences of opinion cannot shut down collaboration.
- And varying perspectives cannot outweigh shared purpose.
If we are to move forward, we must assume the best in one another’s intentions, expertise, and commitment — especially when the work is hard, when we disagree, and when we experience so many emotions around important decisions. What I am calling for — and asking of you — is that we work to trust each other more.
We’re not going to get everything just right. We may stumble and make mistakes. But we will not be careless or reckless or unthinking in doing what we believe is best.
Before going further, let me speak plainly about the landscape we are navigating. Budgetary pressures continue to mount. The demographic, economic, policy, and geopolitical trends affecting higher education nationally continue to affect the choices we face as an institution. And while we have made important, substantial progress against the headwinds, for every three steps we take, we may — it seems — be pulled back a step by the shifting landscape and its worsening conditions.
So, let’s unpack some of this.
At Clark, we have successfully brought some strategic efficiencies to our operations and programming, which has had a positive impact. We have reduced our costs by 4.5% to date, based on our actual FY 25 expenditures, while we have been able to continue to invest in priority areas, especially those we have identified as growth opportunities and competitive advantages. Isolated, those trend lines absolutely are moving in the right direction.
However, we have a significant Achilles’ heel to contend with: the impact of federal policies that have effectively closed the door to international students. Visa processing continues to be a major hurdle for many international students who would love to come to Clark for their studies. Perhaps even more troubling is the “unwelcome mat” that has been placed at our borders. More and more, international students are exploring opportunities in other countries and, in doing so, are shifting affinities that could last a decade or more, even a generation.
For the country, it is a major blow to our global standing as an intellectual, cultural, and economic leader. For us here at Clark, it is a serious recruitment and — thus — budgetary concern, especially related to graduate enrollment. In recent years, more than three-quarters of students enrolled in our graduate degree programs (in fact, 82%) have been from countries outside the United States. So, a significant reduction in international student enrollment is and will continue to have dramatic impacts on several aspects of our operating model.
Last year at this time, 1,382 graduate students were enrolled at Clark. Today, that number stands at 618, overwhelmingly due to a shrinkage in international students. Because of the unknowns and a need to be cautious and conservative in making projections, we now are anticipating that trend to continue into the next academic year. And this creates downward pressure on the budget … that one step backward I referred to, even as we take our three steps forward.
Other pressures remain or have intensified recently, including the public’s perception of what colleges and universities are all about. Higher education has long stood as one of this nation’s most transformative forces — a catalyst for opportunity, discovery, and social mobility. At institutions like Clark, we nurture critical thinking, foster durable and adaptable skills, spark innovation, and prepare students to meet an increasingly complex world with care, curiosity, and conviction.
Championing and investing in this system are not about clinging to tradition for its own sake. It is about ensuring that colleges and universities have the resources, imagination, and resolve to evolve in ways that honor our missions and extend our impact. If we hold fast to our principles and values while also embracing thoughtful reform, we can strengthen higher education’s ability to serve students, communities, and the broader society that depends on us.
Across the country, we hear growing sentiment that higher education needs reform — but also that it remains indispensable. Meaningful reforms can expand access, enhance quality, and deepen public trust. The most urgent needs involve improving affordability: rethinking financial aid, slowing tuition growth, and reinvigorating public investment so that students are not burdened by untenable debt. Institutions can also advance student success by simplifying transfer pathways, modernizing advising, and reimagining curricula to offer clearer, more flexible routes to graduation. Strengthening the connection between learning and the workforce — while preserving the intellectual, ethical, and civic aims that define higher education — will ensure our students gain both the practical competencies and the broader capacities essential for leadership and problem‑solving. And we must continue our work to promote equity, transparency, and accountability so that every student, regardless of background, has a genuine opportunity to thrive.
We at Clark are addressing these very concerns. All of these imperatives can be positively influenced by full and successful implementation of our transformation plan.
The changes we are pursuing at Clark are not concessions; they are strategic decisions grounded in our responsibility to steward this institution into the future. They reflect our commitment to manage our needs proactively so we may continue to fulfill our mission — and do so in the distinctive, meaningful ways that only Clark can.
As I made clear earlier in this address, I believe deeply that Clark University matters to the world, and that we must adapt in order to endure. This brings me to our next truth.
The future is uncertain; there are some things we cannot control and others that we can and must.
By 2031 — five years from now, which is our near-term horizon — we can achieve our financial goals by:
- Enrolling a first-year undergraduate class of 600 students.
- Decreasing our tuition discount rate from 69% to 66% or lower.
- Increasing our first-year retention rate by 1%.
- Being innovative in graduate student recruitment and mounting programs that enjoy steady enrollments.
- Advancing a successful comprehensive capital campaign and reaching or exceeding our goal of raising $250 million in new money.
and
- Achieving the rightsizing efficiencies we’ve committed to.
All of this is doable, especially if we work together. Just consider a handful of examples of the positive, inspiring momentum we already have underway.
Our first-year retention rate, from first to second semester of this academic year, is at 96.4%. That is the highest it has been since 2019 and second-highest in the past decade going back to 2016.
Meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
There is fantastic energy around our undergraduate admissions recruitment that is making deeper, more compelling connections with prospective students and their families. I could share many specific examples of the difference this is making, but I’ll call out just one. In recent years, we typically held two off-campus yield events to engage with admitted students and seal their interest in coming to Clark. This year, our admissions team, along with many of you, are holding gatherings in 15 cities across the country. From Los Angeles to New York City, and Seattle to Austin.
And admitted students are responding. Last year, 18 guests attended our yield event in New York City. This year, with added inspiration and solid planning, 100 guests — 40 of them admitted students — joined us.
Meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
On another front, on December 31, our endowment stood at $522 million, with an 11% gain over the course of the calendar year. This is due to better performance than we’ve seen in recent years, including when markets have been strong. Importantly, it is also because generous donors are investing in our long-term plans and our future.
Meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
In March of 2024, we announced our intention to establish a new School of Climate, Environment, and Society. This year, that intention became a reality. We welcomed a new dean, Lou Leonard; formally launched the school with a day-long series of events in September; and made swift progress in building recognition and global awareness of the School — at New York Climate Week, at COP30 in Brazil, and through exposure in top-shelf media outlets around the world, at an unprecedented level of recognition we have not enjoyed before.
Meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
With leadership and help from many of you, through a series of charettes organized and led by Dean of the College Laurie Ross and Chair of the Faculty Kristen Williams, we have gained greater clarity and energy around other new schools that will help us to showcase more of our academic strengths and house courses of study increasingly of interest to today’s students. These schools also will feature impactful research and scholarship that addresses some of world’s most vexing challenges.
While there is more to do here, this still represents meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
Most recently, also with great collaboration across the University, we received the 2026 Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, which recognizes Clark’s commitment to building partnerships, collaborating with the public and private sectors, and making a positive impact in the Worcester community and beyond. The classification has been the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education since its first presentation in 2006. What a tremendous source of pride for our University, where integrating scholarship, research, community service, and partnership is so core to who we are and what we do.
Meaningful, notable, measurable momentum.
Perhaps less tangible, but just as important, while we have not been able to do as much as we would like in advancing our compensation plans, we did try to find other ways to recognize your hard work and dedication — with new employee fringe benefits and an extended holiday break, for example. And today, I’m announcing that we will once again offer a four-day work week for most employees this summer.
My point here: There are many reasons to be optimistic, as long as we remain nimble, creative, and ready to adapt. Again, we must be comfortable with calculated risks. We must keep our eyes open to shifting realities. And we must continue making decisions that ensure Clark’s long-term strength, even when those decisions are difficult and uncomfortable.
Others are motivated to invest in Clark.
One powerful affirmation of the direction we are heading is the confidence others are placing in Clark.
In October, alumnus and trustee Ron Shaich made an extraordinary gift of $20 million — the largest single gift in Clark’s history. This was not nostalgia. It was not sentimentality. It was an investment in our future, in our plan for transformation, and in the belief that a stronger Clark makes for a stronger world. Ron’s gift supports enrollment and financial aid, academic initiatives, and the continued development of The Clark Experience.
Last year, trustee Vickie Riccardo and her family made a $10 million gift to launch the School of Climate, Environment, and Society that I just mentioned.
These gifts do not eliminate the need for financial discipline. But they enable us to make strategic investments even as we continue the work of rightsizing the institution.
In the coming weeks, you will hear more about our comprehensive campaign, led by Joe Manok and the University Advancement team. This will be an exciting opportunity to build on some genuine momentum in philanthropic support of Clark.
Even as we evolve, Clark can be true to itself.
I want to pause for a moment to remind all of us that while change is necessary, our identity endures.
Clarkies are at their best when confronting a world that is complex and contradictory — a world where core values are challenged, norms are unsettled, and reality itself is sometimes questioned.
This is precisely the kind of world Clark was made for.
We prepare our students to engage truthfully, bravely, and critically. To step into complexity, not away from it. To create change when and where it is needed.
This mission spans generations. And it connects us directly to one of the great figures in our history: Robert Goddard, whose pioneering work in rocketry changed humanity’s understanding of what is possible. His story, which I have referenced in past remarks, continues to inspire us today as we prepare to celebrate in March here at Clark, and in Worcester more broadly, the 100thanniversary of his successful experiments.
Goddard was brilliant, imperfect, human — and deeply Clark.
Today, the spirit of his ambition thrives in places like our Center for Geospatial Analytics, where Hamed Alemohammed and his colleagues in Geography and Sustainability and Social Justice are using cutting-edge tools to address global challenges — from Morgan Ruelle’s work on agricultural productivity in Ethiopia, to Florencia Sangermano’s ecoacoustic research in the Amazon, to multiple efforts to track, and respond to, climate change across the globe.
We see it in the chemistry lab of Julio D’Arcy, who, with his students, is conducting paradigm-altering research into energy production and storage that will one day have tangible, positive impacts on our lives. And in the successful efforts of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise, led by Nadia Ward, to bring a multi-tiered, technology-aided approach to treating mental health issues among our young people through the use of apps and a newly opened Sensory Immersion Room in the Southbridge Public Schools.
Among our staff, there are so many examples of going above and beyond in support of this University we all love. It is impossible to recognize everyone who deserves to be recognized so allow me to call out just one example of the commitment, ingenuity, and collaborative spirit that Michelle Johnson-Sargent, assistant to the chair in the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice, brings to her work every day. In addition to her departmental duties, Michelle has taken on extra duties to support the School of Climate, Environment, and Society. She keeps us organized and directed in advancing the mission of the School and the University. And in addition to all of that, Michelle dedicates her time and talents as a leader of Staff Assembly.
Let me also call special attention and extend my deep thanks to all of the many staff who supported this year’s NECHE reaccreditation process — among them Sheri Davis, Tracy Leonard, Amy Lee, Elissa Liu, and Patrick Hare.
All of the Clark work I’ve just described finds its reflection within The Clark Experience, which prepares each of our students, without exception, to embark on lives and careers of meaning and consequence.
The work echoes Goddard’s legacy: pushing boundaries, redefining what we can know, and expanding what we can dream.
In closing, let me say that I have always tried in these addresses to be candid with you, and I will do so again today:
We are at a significant crossroads. Our challenges are greater than our opportunities in this moment.
This is not hypothetical. It is real, it is hard, but it is not permanent.
We have already made hard decisions, with more to come. As I said before, we cannot predict the future with certainty. But we are moving forward with a plan — one informed by data, guided by mission, and grounded in what we believe is best for Clark and its students.
We are moving forward with confidence and humility in a landscape that requires nimbleness, adaptability, and courage.
My colleagues and fellow Clarkies:
We are a community of smart, motivated, committed individuals.
We cannot do our best work without trust in one another.
We must work together. Our individual talents are remarkable. But they reach their fullest potential only when we understand, deeply, that our priority is collective transformation — the “us” that makes Clark what it is.
We must remain true to our values, knowing there are new ways to express them.
And we must move forward more quickly than we ever have.
Standing still is not an option. Doing too little too slowly will cost us the opportunities we most need to overcome the challenges that confront us.
If you’ll indulge me, let me return to Robert Goddard one last time.
Goddard changed the trajectory of human understanding. But he did not do it alone. He had mentors, colleagues, students, and — critically — a partner in his wife, Esther, who documented his work, protected his inventions, and preserved his legacy.
He had a team.
A Clark team.
A myth we sometimes subscribe to is that greatness happens in isolation. And much of higher education does seem to promote individual achievement, the ideal of the solitary scholar, the power of the individual mind.
The truth — the hard truth — is that greatness is a shared endeavor.
If we rely on one another — on our shared intelligence, commitment, grit, humility, and humanity — then together we will be the stewards Clark needs right now.
Let’s all contribute, actively, to moving Clark forward — emboldened by truth, trust, and the belief in the power of transformation.
Thank you very much.