{"id":57,"date":"2021-03-29T13:23:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T17:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/"},"modified":"2025-03-31T10:55:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T14:55:35","slug":"statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2021-03-29T13:23:31-04:00\">March 29, 2021<\/time><\/div>\n\n<p>As a neighbor to Becker College for over 100 years, Clark University sincerely regrets that the college has had to make the painful decision to close. Becker has occupied a distinguished place in the higher education landscape, especially here in Worcester. We know this is an extremely difficult time for Becker\u2019s students, faculty, staff, and alumni and that the closure is a loss for our region. Clark stands ready to support the Becker community as it moves through this challenging transition.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, we are pleased to announce the establishment of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/schools\/becker-school-of-design-and-technology\/\" aria-label=\"Becker School of Design &amp; Technology\">Becker School of Design &amp; Technology<\/a>\u00a0at Clark University, allowing one of Becker College\u2019s most renowned programs to remain within the city. Dean Alan Ritacco, Associate Dean Paul Cotnoir, and many of their fellow faculty members will be joining our academic enterprise and retaining most of the curriculum offerings at the current School of Design &amp; Technology. This will provide a seamless path forward for Becker students in these program areas and a continuation of the outstanding, innovative leadership at the school.<\/p>\n<p>This new Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark will enable students to continue, or to embark on, leading-edge studies in its nationally ranked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/major\/interactive-media-game-design-development\/\">Interactive Media Design (Game Design) program<\/a> and associated concentrations at both the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/major\/interactive-media-game-design-development\/\">undergraduate<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/master-of-fine-arts-in-interactive-media\/\">graduate (MFA)<\/a> levels, as well as in Esports Management and Integrated Graphic Design. Becker students in Business, Criminology, and Computer Science also will have pathways at Clark to complete their degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Clark chose the name the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology to honor and sustain the great history and tradition of Becker College.<\/p>\n<p>Clark will offer a unique opportunity for Becker students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Clark\u2019s recognized excellence in interdisciplinary liberal arts and its array of highly respected graduate programs will complement and enrich the school\u2019s curriculum and generate new opportunities for Clark students, as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe proudly welcome Becker students to Clark University, and we\u2019re thrilled not only to nurture these signature Becker programs, which are already among some of the best in the world, but also to expand them and broaden their scope,\u201d Clark President David Fithian said. \u201cBy merging Becker\u2019s strengths in these dynamic areas with the heft of a Clark liberal arts education, we\u2019re creating an amplified and energized academic experience that uniquely equips our students to confront challenges on a global scale and embrace emerging opportunities in the 21st-century economy. This is a perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Students studying in the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark will benefit from a combined curriculum that represents some of the best of Clark and Becker. Clark\u2019s fast-growing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/major\/media-culture-and-the-arts\/\">Media, Culture, and the Arts major<\/a>, its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/majors-minors\/screen-studies\/\">Screen Studies program<\/a>, advanced degrees in areas like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/masters-in-marketing-analytics\/\">marketing analytics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/masters-in-data-analytics\/\">data analytics<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/graduate\/programs\/masters\/masters-in-project-management\/\">project management<\/a>, and new graduate credentials in computer science and biotechnology present exciting synergies with the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology\u2019s in-demand and market-aligned programs, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/programs\/major\/interactive-media-game-design-development\/\">game development<\/a> and esports management.<\/p>\n<p>Fithian added that the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark also is exploring expansion opportunities for research and teaching related to machine learning and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>Clark has streamlined the application and transfer process to make it as easy as possible for Becker students who are exploring ways to continue their education.<\/p>\n<p>Becker students can learn more about the process for transferring to Clark University.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a neighbor to Becker College for over 100 years, Clark University sincerely regrets that the college has had to make the painful decision to close. Becker has occupied a distinguished place in the higher education landscape, especially here in Worcester. We know this is an extremely difficult time for Becker\u2019s students, faculty, staff, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University | Office of the President | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a neighbor to Becker College for over 100 years, Clark University sincerely regrets that the college has had to make the painful decision to close. Becker has occupied a distinguished place in the higher education landscape, especially here in Worcester. We know this is an extremely difficult time for Becker\u2019s students, faculty, staff, and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Office of the President\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Pennypacker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/\"},\"headline\":\"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":582,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/\",\"name\":\"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University | Office of the President | Clark University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/884237452632ee846930bad1d6a6d61d\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/29\\\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/posts\\\/57#breadcrumbs\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":0,\"name\":\"ClarkU\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Office of the President\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/\",\"name\":\"Office of the President\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/president\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University | Office of the President | Clark University","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University","og_description":"As a neighbor to Becker College for over 100 years, Clark University sincerely regrets that the college has had to make the painful decision to close. Becker has occupied a distinguished place in the higher education landscape, especially here in Worcester. We know this is an extremely difficult time for Becker\u2019s students, faculty, staff, and [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/","og_site_name":"Office of the President","article_published_time":"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Pennypacker","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/"},"headline":"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University","datePublished":"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/"},"wordCount":582,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/","name":"Statement Regarding the Establishment of the Becker School of Design &amp; Technology at Clark University | Office of the President | Clark University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-29T17:23:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-31T14:55:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/#\/schema\/person\/884237452632ee846930bad1d6a6d61d"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/2021\/03\/29\/statement-regarding-the-establishment-of-the-becker-school-of-design-technology-at-clark-university\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":0,"name":"ClarkU","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Office of the President","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/","name":"Office of the President","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":401,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/president\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}