NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts kicked off the school year last week with fully occupied dorms and its "lucky 13th" president. 

 

Diana Rogers-Atkinson welcomed the gathering of staff, faculty and student representatives in the Venable Hall gymnasium for the traditional convocation breakfast on Tuesday, along with several trustees and Mayor Jennifer Macksey. Theater arts professor Laura Stanley sang the alma mater, starting a new tradition. 

 

"This is a great time of the year. It's a time of new beginnings on many levels for us this year, and I'm really excited," said the college's new leader. "I hope everyone is prepared for an exciting school year ahead. I am constantly impressed by the work that the MCLA staff and faculty do every day. You work tirelessly to provide our students with a fantastic education and a home away from home. I want to thank you on behalf of our board for your dedication, determination, and hard work."

 

The hard work is paying off as the college's enrollment continues to climb out of the hole it dropped into during the pandemic. 

 

The college has 162 first-year students and 89 transfer students, Richard Glejzer, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said, up from 219 last year. 

 

"We also have an additional student pool that we've kept separate in our count because it's a one-time pool," he explained. "As we are serving as a teach-out partner for two [closed] institutions, Anna Maria College and Hampshire College, we have two students coming from Anna Maria, and we have 20 students coming from Hampshire College. That brings us up to 272 new students, up 24 percent when you add all this together from this from last year and 29 percent from the year before."

 

He held up his hand to halt the applause to "add one more thing": looking at a "slice" of graduate student numbers, the college is expecting 105 to be enrolled, up from 92 last year. 

 

The student body hails from 22 states and territories, as close as Massachusetts (54 percent) and as far as Puerto Rico and Texas, and plus 11 international students from seven countries. 

 

"If we add in the expected returners who are from Australia, Latvia, Russia, and South Africa, we have the strongest international presence in anyone's memory at MCLA," Glejzer said. 

 

There's an increase in enrollment in a number of majors, including pre-nursing which doubled, and radiologic technology, at 35 students compared to 28 students last year and capped because of concerns over clinical site capacity.

 

In terms of percentages, more than half of all students are female and are a quarter ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, Native American). Forty-two percent are receiving Pell grants, 52 percent are first-generation students, and 46 percent are from out of state.

 

"It is the highest percentage ever at MCLA, and higher than any public institution in the state of Massachusetts — 46 percent out of state," Glejzer said. 

 

"Why is that hugely important? One function of our mission, Mayor Macksey talks about us as a driver within the community.  ... We have a net outwards in terms of our demographic, in terms of decline. The more students we bring from without, and we are obviously very close to two states, New York in particular, that brings students to us. But that's an amazing number for us."

 

Nearly 40 percent of the student body are participating in athletics and the college is also seeing higher retention, reflected in higher grade-point averages in student enrollment. 

 

"At times when our GPAs are lower, one of the things we always notice is a corresponding drop in retention rates. It's just a factor, not just us, but that's again across across the country," he said. "These are markers for us that demonstrate some real traction with some of the stronger students in the state, and it bodes especially well for us around retention."

 

Rogers-Atkinson, now nicknamed "Dr. or President RA," said returning to Massachusetts after 40 years was a bit of a homecoming. She had been selected as the college's 13th president earlier this year on the retirement of James Birge. 

 

"I have been the new kid more times than the average bear," she said, referring to her many moves and the 14 schools she attended growing up in a family that moved frequently because of her father's job. Dr. RA thanked everyone for smooth orientation, their enthusiasm and her desire to have the college's mission "be something everybody can say, speak, and feel, and live on a daily basis."

 

"We believe that both we and our students have the power to transform the world that we live in," the president said. "And I hear that strongly when I talk to our students already on campus. They are an eclectic, soulful group who do believe in each their own way they will change the world, and it is because of them we know we have a bright future."

 

She plans to hold coffee hours and town halls, publish a newsletter, and have more formal communications and in-person check-ins with the college community. 

 

Macksey had given greetings early in the program, saying while she had been a little distant because of her schedule (adding "OK, personalities"), her heart belonged to the college where she had once worked. 

 

"The last year has been a lot of reflection for me about how important MCLA is to North Adams, and I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Dr. RA," she said. "We have already done some problem solving. We've already done some visionary work, but most importantly, we are building, rebuilding a relationship with the city of North Adams and MCLA. MCLA is not just in North Adams, you are North Adams. You are the future of North Adams."

 

One possible future was Tia Kareh, president of the Student Government Association who introduced SGA members, including student trustee Robert Kimball.

 

"As President RA is welcomed into our community, SGA and I cannot wait to see the fresh perspectives and new ideas brought to campus to support our students," she said. "That being said, great work has already been underway, President RA, you are joining us during a time of wonderful momentum and positive change on campus."

 

She spoke of some of the events keeping students engaged, such as conferences, trips, the Student Food Committee, and a luminary sale to benefit the AYJ Club. And, she invited faculty to stop by the SGA office because "just like your office hours, we offer sweet treats and a box of tissues, if you just need a moment, let it out."

 

Representatives were introduced from the college's unions — Jennifer Dermady and Thomas Mongeon of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Seth Bean of the Association of Professional Administrators and Kerri Nicoll of the Massachusetts State College Association.

 

Bean reminded the gathering that APA will be joining other unions in a fair wages campaign and Nicoll said the leadership of the three unions have been meeting regularly to share concerns and strategize for change. 

 

"We have this reality: what the world is like right now, what our community is like right now, all the bad and all the good, and we have what might be in the future. And in between, we have this space of uncertainty, in which we get to choose how to act, and what kind of future we're acting toward," Nicoll, professor  of sociology and anthropology, said. "In our current space of uncertainty, let's keep connecting, keep speaking up, keep listening to other perspectives."