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The annual opening breakfast for the fall semester includes, staff, faculty and guests.
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Trustee Susan Gold said the presidential search is tracking on schedule.
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The college's latest capital project, Bowman Hall, opens for classes on Wednesday.

MCLA Opens 'Year of Transition' With New Faces, New Leader Search

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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James C. Clemmer, a 1986 MCLA graduate, opened the fall semester as the college's interim president.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Tuesday's opening semester breakfast at MCLA had an easily recognized theme: Transition.

The word popped up over and over as officials welcomed new staff, new faculty, new students, new programs, new [almost] buildings and a very new interim president to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The college had hoped to open this year of transition with a new president at the helm. Instead, James C. Clemmer, vice chairman of the board of trustees, is steering the school in the interim as it embarks on a second presidential search.

"I'm honored to serve in this role, I have a passion and a commitment to public higher education and a stronger passion and commitment here to MCLA," said Clemmer, "because MCLA is an important part and remains an important part of my life."

Clemmer, a 1986 graduate and alumni representative to the trustees, stepped in as interim president three weeks ago in place of Cynthia Brown, vice president of academic affairs, who is a candidate for the permanent post.

The recently retired executive of a global medical device manufacturer said running a college is a little outside his area of expertise and that he will rely on the staff and faculty's aid.

"I may do things a bit differently, may look at things a differently, making different decisions," he said, adding that a different perspective may be good in challenging all of them to do better. "But I'm hoping to learn from you."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Search Committee has already been reviewing applications, said Trustee Susan Gold, co-chairman with Trustee Mohan Boodram of the search committee.

Korn Ferry, hired as the search consultant, has been on campus holding focus group meetings, which Gold encouraged the campus community to attend to provide input on what they would like to see in a new president.

She anticipated trimming down the application list to eight to 13 candidates by mid-October with three to five finalists invited to campus by late fall to participate in open forums.

"The board makes the final decision on who becomes the president of MCLA," Gold said. "And we promise to make the best choice possible."

The gathering also recognized the many accomplishments of Vice President of Administration and Finance James Stakenas, who will be retiring.

Stakenas has been with the college for 15 of his 35 years as an administrator. Clemmer described his as "a rock" during turbulent times, and as someone who "fought passionately and tirelessly" on behalf of the college and its capital projects such as the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation.

"We wanted to remind everybody of the great work he's done," Clemmer said, adding that Stakenas would be representing the college at Tuesday afternoon's swearing in of new Bridgewater State President Frederick Clark Jr.


Charles Cianfarini, president of the local Association of Professional Administrators, joked that a mathematician, statistician and a vice president of administration and finance were given one question to answer when they applied for a job: 500 plus 500 equals what?

SGA President Alexandra Kadell and Student Trustee Nicholas Hernigle thanked those assembled for their support of students.

The mathematician answered 1,000, said Cianfarini, and the statistician "1,000, with 95 percent certainty." The vice president answered, "how much do you want it to be?" and got the job on the spot, he said to laughter from the crowded Amsler Campus Center cafeteria.

Cianfarini was one of several speakers the breakfast. He noted divisive issues affecting the nation and said the college community needed to "encourage our students to be exemplary citizens" that may be prepared to solve those problems.

Elizabeth Manns, chief steward of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told Clemmer that "everyone at the college is looking to support you" and commended Brown for her leadership. "You kept your hand on the steering wheel and kept the institution moving forward," she said.

Graziana Ramsden, president of the Faculty Association, a professor of foreign language, said she was committed to bettering communication between the different sectors of the college.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming year," she said. "If we do it with integrity and transparency in our actions and in our hearts, we will maintain and fulfill those values of academic excellence."

Trustee William Dudley, who stepped into Clemmer's seat as vice chairman, said opening the semester "always feels like New Year's Day. There's lot of enthusiasm, a lot of optimism."

Student Government Association President Alexandra Kadell urged staff and faculty to attend student events, saying their involvement meant a lot to students. "Seeing your faces out there supporting us is really appreciated by the students," she said.

Student Trustee Nicholas Hernigle thanked them for their mentoring and for teaching him to keep a positive attitude even for the most difficult tasks.

Mayor Richard Alcombright brought greetings from the city and said he looked forward to continued partnership with the college.

"MCLA is a cornerstone of our greater community," he said, pointing to the academic acclaim and diversity it brings to the city. "None of this happens without the very dedicated group right here in front of me."

MCLA is welcoming some 450 new students including transferring students, and 23 percent of incoming freshmen are recipients of merit scholarships, said Clemmer.

Among the new and continuing initiatives are retention, including for graduation, the STEM Academy, community health and business programs, and interdisciplinary studies. The college's first capital campaign exceeded its goal of $22.5 million by $8 million and the newly renovated Bowman Hall opens for classes on Wednesday with a grand opening on Sept. 10.

Clemmer said the college had a commitment to offering the best education and opportunities no matter what the state budget provided. Accessibility and affordability of higher education was increasingly an issues for most students, he said, and at the same time increasing enrollment would help some of the funding issues "go away."

"So my role here, my tenure, won't be very long," he said. "I won't be able to take up every issue. ...

"I will do my best to fight for those opportunities."

Corrections: Updated on Sept. 2 to correct a name and the consulting firm


Tags: board of trustees,   breakfast,   college president,   MCLA,   search committee,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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