"Williams president earns top 10 salary"
The Berkshire Eagle Online, Staff and Wire Reports, Tuesday, November 18, 2008
College presidents' earnings continue to rise, and a new survey puts Williams College's Morton O. Schapiro ninth on the list of top-paid leaders at private schools that primarily award bachelor's degrees.
Schapiro's compensation for the 2006-07 academic year was $514,744, including $62,729 in deferred compensation benefits, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education's annual survey, released yesterday.
Schapiro's compensation total for the previous year was $474,518. There are 202 bachelor's-degree private schools listed in the report.
Schapiro was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The top-paid private-school president was Suffolk University's David J. Sargent, who earned $2.8 million in 2006-07.
Overall, pay for presidents at 184 public universities rose more than 7 percent. The figure for private schools was about 6 percent.
Among public institutions, E. Gordon Lee of Ohio State University was the top earner at $1.3 million.
"In these hard economic times, apparently belt-tightening is for families and students, not university presidents," Charles Grassley, chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.
The College Board recently reported that tuition and fees for public universities jumped 6.4 percent this fall, while the cost of attending a four-year private institution is 5.9 percent more than last year.
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"Williams president stepping down; will head Northwestern"
Berkshire Eagle staff report, Tuesday, December 16, 2008
WILLIAMSTOWN — Williams College President Morton Owen Schapiro said today that he will be leaving the institution to become president of Northwestern University beginning Sept. 1, 2009.
"Twenty of my thirty years in academe have been spent at Williams and I've loved virtually every minute," Schapiro said in a letter e- mailed today to Williams students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents.
"The past nine as president have been the greatest honor and privilege of my professional life. But with the completion of our comprehensive campaign this month and my strong feeling that institutions need new leadership every decade or so, I think the timing is right."
During his presidency, which began in 2000, Williams has substantially reduced average class size, tripled the number of courses offered in its signature tutorial program, and completed several major building projects, including a center for theatre and dance, a student center, and faculty office and classroom buildings.
To support this, in addition to a number of other initiatives to improve access to and affordability of the college, Williams launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign, which will close at the end of this month, well past its $400 million goal.
"While we will be very sad to see them depart the Purple Valley, we are deeply excited for Morty, Mimi, and their family as they anticipate and prepare for their next adventure," Greg Avis, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Williams Board of Trustees said in an accompanying letter.
Avis said he would begin immediately to assemble a Presidential Search Committee composed of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
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"Williams College seeks public input in presidential search"
The Berkshire Eagle, City, Tuesday, February 24, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN — Local residents are invited to meet with members of the Williams College Presidential Search Committee on Wednesday, March 4, at 5 p.m. in the Faculty House on the corner of Main and Park streets.
"The Search Committee hopes to learn from members of the community what short- and long-term issues they think Williams will face and what qualities the committee should stress in evaluating candidates," said Charles Dew, Search Committee Secretary and Ephraim Williams Professor of American History.
"We hope that the college's neighbors will come and share with us their observations."
This input, along with that gathered from other Williams constituencies will guide the committee's writing of the position prospectus that will describe the college at this point in its history and spell out the attributes most desired in the new president.
The search committee was formed when President Morton Owen Schapiro announced in December that he would be moving this summer to take presidency of Northwestern University.
For more information, visit www.williams.edu
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"Williams' search for a new president ramps up"
By Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle Staff, Wednesday, March 04, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN — The search for the next Williams College president is about to become more intense since the initial steps of the search process are nearly complete.
A search committee has been meeting with various sectors of the college community to "examine where the college is in its mission, where it is with its various constituencies, and we wanted to make sure we did reach out to all constituencies," said Greg Avis, chairman of the executive committee of the Williams College board of trustees and chairman of the 2009 Presidential Search Committee. "The object is to then take that data and develop a document called a prospectus and use that document to detail the attributes and actions we are looking for in the next president of the college."
The search committee is made up of seven members of the college's executive board, who are also alumni, two non-board alumni, four faculty members, one staff member and two students.
The only open forum for residents of Williamstown will meet today at 5 p.m. in the Faculty House Lounge.
By month's end, 25 meetings with a wide variety of faculty and staff will have been completed. There were also three forums for student input.
"You try to get input from as broad a base of the college community as possible, including even the local community," said James Kolesar, assistant to the president for public affairs at Williams College. "You need to have a sense of the college and longer term issues it will be facing, and a sense from the college community of what qualities they think will be most necessary in the next president of Williams."
Once all the input has been gathered, the writing of the prospectus on the status of the college at this point in its history and the attributes to be sought in hiring a new president will begin, Avis said.
Then the process of contacting possible candidates begins in earnest.
Avis noted that while the position will be advertised in collegiate trade periodicals, this kind of position is typically filled via personal contact.
Toward the end of the process, the search committee will conclude its work by providing the college board of trustees with a short list of who they consider to be the most qualified candidates, Avis said.
"In the very final stages, the search committee will vet the candidates, do the due diligence and spend a lot of time with them — a very important part of the process so we can deliver with confidence a short list of candidates to the trustees who will make the final decision," Avis said.
He expects dozens, or even hundreds, of candidates will be referred to the search committee.
The timing of a final selection will depend entirely on the committee's ability to find the one individual with the unique characteristics and qualifications to fit well into the position.
Said Avis, "Our number one goal is to get the very best person, however long it takes."
President Morton O. Schapiro announced in December that he will step down in August to become president of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.
During his nine-year tenure at Williams, Schapiro is credited with raising $490 million in a capital campaign, increasing the college's commitment to financial aid, and encouraging a higher level of diversity in the student body.
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To reach Scott Stafford: sstafford@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 664-4995.
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"Schapiro to be honored"
North Adams Transcript, March 7, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN -- Just two months after Williams College president Morton O. Schapiro announced his intention to leave the college at the end of August, an alumni group has raised the funds to name one of the school's buildings in honor of him.
The South Academic building on campus will soon be renamed Schapiro Hall after the man who served the college as a professor from 1980 to 1991 and as president since 2000.
In a letter to the campus community, Greg Avis, chief of the executive committee of the board of trustees, said the college was thrilled to be able to name the building after Schapiro.
"It is wonderful that succeeding generations of students, faculty, and staff will now have a permanent reminder of the many ways their lives have been touched by Morty," he wrote. "As he would be the first to point out, the accomplishments of the past nine years have resulted from the collective work of all who have been part of the college community. So in a significant way the building honors you all."
In his nine-year tenure as president, Schapiro raised $490 million as part of a five-year capital campaign, increased the school's commitment to financial aid and increased the level of diversity in the student body. He also implemented initiatives aimed at reducing the average class size, tripling the number of courses offered in the college's signature tutorial program and creating a new residential life program. Schapiro also oversaw a number of major building projects including a center for theater and dance, a student center and a new faculty building. And he managed to find the time to teach at least two classes every year.
Schapiro announced he was leaving the school in December with the news that he was taking a position at Northwestern University in the suburbs of Chicago starting in September.
James Kolesar, assistant to the president for public affairs, said the alumni group that raised the funds to name the building after Schapiro are keeping their identity quiet for the time being, along with how much money was necessary to name the building after him. Kolesar said there will be a dedication ceremony during the April Board Meeting that will be fairly low-key, but added that there will be an opportunity in the spring for members of the community to thank Schapiro for his contributions.
"That's the kind of guy he is," Kolesar said. "He doesn't want a lot of fuss about it. He's certainly honored and pleased that it's happening, but he doesn't like a lot of attention."
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"Williams College looks to cut $10M from budget"
By Meghan Foley, North Adams Transcript, March 6, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN -- Williams College is looking to cut approximately $10 million from its budget over fiscal 2010, according to the private institution's provost and treasurer.
"What we're budgeting for FY10 is approximately $10 million lower than what we budgeted for this fiscal year," Provost and Treasurer William Lenhart said Thursday.
He said the college originally had budgeted $216 million for operating expenses for FY09, but by the end of the fiscal year (June 30), the college expects the actually amount spent to be $213 million or maybe less.
The $10 million decrease for FY10 would result in a budget of $215 million.
Lenhart said cuts will be made across a number of areas. Of the four essential operating budget areas: Salaries, wages and benefits; financial aid; managers budgets -- which include individual operating budgets for departments excluding salaries and the renewal budget -- which includes spending for ongoing maintenance and modernization projects to the campus and its buildings, financial aid will increase because of the college's ongoing commitment to make sure students can afford to attend the college, he said.
He said college departments have been asked to submit two budgets, one with a 12 percent cut and the other with a 15 percent cut. The idea behind submitting two budgets was if some areas couldn't reach the 15 percent cut, it could be made up with other areas that could take a the cut.
In addition to cutting department budgets, the college will spend "markedly less on renewal spending next year," the hiring freeze instituted for FY09 will continue and salaries will be frozen at current levels for the coming year, Lenhart said.
He said there have already been some changes in the college's programs with the reductions made to the FY09 budget, and the reduction in what is available as part of programs in FY10 "will be noticed."
He said the college is not planning to cut any programs, including its community outreach programs, at this time.
"We haven't identified yet any larger, dramatic program elimination," he said.
He said the college contribution to the local community will remain largely intact for FY10.
A Feb. 26 letter from Williams College President Morton Schapiro to the college community stated the college had formed an Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Budget Priorities made up of faculty, staff and students to meet weekly and advise the college's senior staff on programs that should be protected most if the college is forced to cut its budget further than anticipated.
Lenhart said college officials are in the process of determining how the budget targets for FY10 will be reached, and they hope to have a final budget ready to present to the college's Board of Trustees in April.
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To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/north-adams-transcript/TSMRRI4QMDRS2902O
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"Williams names interim president"
By Meghan Foley, North Adams Transcript, 4/29/2009
WILLIAMSTOWN -- The Williams College Board of Trustees has unanimously decided on an interim president -- effective July 1 -- as the presidential search committee continues to look for a permanent replacement.
William "Bill" Wagner, dean of the faculty, will be taking the reins after President Morton O. Schapiro leaves at the end of June.
"I am deeply honored to have been asked by the Board of Trustees to be interim president from July 1 until Morty Schapiro’s successor assumes his or her responsibilities. I feel privileged to be able to serve the college in this capacity and look forward to continuing to collaborate with the other members of senior staff, our regular standing committees and the Board of Trustees to manage college affairs, and in particular, to meet our current financial challenges effectively and in ways that preserve our core values," Wagner wrote in a letter to the college community on Monday.
Wagner will serve as interim president of Williams College "for as long as needed," according to a letter from Greg Avis, chairman of the 2009 Presidential Search Committee and 1980 Williams graduate, to the college community.
Schapiro announced in December 2008 he had accepted a position as president of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Since then, a search committee has been actively looking for the next person to lead Williams College.
The committee has so far gathered input from the Williams and Williamstown communities as to what they would like to see in the next president of the college, and a presidential position prospectus has been published.
Avis’ letter, which was sent Monday, stated, "The committee has been operating on the possibility of having the new president in place by the time Morty Schapiro leaves at the end of June. The chance of that has become remote enough to enact an alternative plan. In anticipation of this possibility, the Board had charged its Executive Committee with developing such a plan. The Executive Committee, after deliberations and consultation with Morty, presented its recommendation to the trustees."
The appointment of Wagner as interim president is a "natural progression" derived from the college’s laws, which state that between presidencies the dean of the faculty assumes the responsibilities of president, according to the letter.
Wagner said he will continue to carry out his responsibilities as dean of the faculty over the summer.
Avis said if Wagner has to continue as interim president beyond Sept. 1, Computer Science Professor Andrea Danyluk will serve as acting dean of the faculty.
Danyluk is also a Division III representative on the Committee on Appointments and Promotions.
Wagner said in the event Danyluk would become the acting dean of the faculty, she would have to resign her position on the committee, and the election of a new representative would take place at the faculty meeting in September.
Besides serving as dean of the faculty during his 29-year career at Williams, Wagner has been director of the Williams-Exeter Programme and chairman of the history department, the Committee on Educational Policy, the Committee on Undergraduate Life, the Committee on Priorities and Resources and the Faculty Compensation Committee.
James G. Kolesar, assistant to the president for Public Affairs, said Tuesday the presidential search committee has received "tons and tons" of names and has begun reviewing them and meeting with some people, even as more names come in.
As interim president, one thing Wagner will be dealing with is the college’s budget situation. Williams has cut $11 million from its fiscal 2010 budget.
Kolesar said Wagner will also represent the president’s office at some alumni events during the summer.
"At a college like this, there are a number of things that go on at any given time and need the direction of the president," he said.
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To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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"Williams College: Endowment lost $400M last year"
By Meghan Foley, New England Newspaper: The Berkshire Eagle & The North Adams Transcript, Friday, September 11, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN -- $400 million.
That his how much Williams College's endowment decreased between June 30, 2008, and June 30, 2009.
Interim President William "Bill" Wagner announced in a letter to the college community on Thursday that the value of the institution's endowment as of June 30 was $1.4 billion.
The endowment's value on June 30, 2008 was $1.8 billion.
"If you asked a year ago today, nobody would have imagined [the endowment] would be that much lower. If you asked in February, a few people might have imagined that it would be that high," said James G. Kolesar, assistant to the president for Public Affairs. "To have $400 million less in the endowment is a very big difference."
He said while the $1.4 billion is an estimate -- the auditing process is still going on -- it won't change much.
Williams College is planning to spend $12 million less in fiscal 2010 than it did in fiscal 09, with a spending on operations budget of $204 million, he said.
"The college has budgeted to spend from the endowment this year $78.3 million," he said.
In his letter, Wagner said that represents 5.6 percent of the endowment's value on June 30.
"However, even in the medium run we cannot maintain that figure without financially endangering future students, faculty and staff. We have to get it back to a sustainable level in as few years as possible, as previous generations have done for our benefit," he said.
While the college planned to spend $94 million from its endowment in 2009, the amount was lowered to at least $91.5 million in response to the economic recession.
Historically the college has spent about 5 percent or less of the endowment's value per fiscal year.
In April, Williams College announced it had taken steps to reduce spending in 2010 by freezing faculty and staff salaries, reducing the number of faculty and staff positions through attrition, and continuing to put capital projects on hold.
In its initial response to the economic recession in the fall of 2008, the college announced that it would delay projects by a year to remodel Weston Field and renovate Stetson Hall into the college's library.
Other cost savings measures the college is taking for 2010 include reducing the building renewal portion of the college's spending on operations budget by $6 million, and cutting managers budgets -- which include individual operating budgets for departments excluding salaries -- by an average of 15 percent.
In addition, Wagner said Williams College has made some changes to some college operations to control costs.
Those changes include closing down college facilities as much as possible from Dec. 23, 2009, to Jan. 2, 2010, having the course catalog and directory only available electronically, and having students pay for printing documents beyond a designated limit per semester.
Kolesar said the college will continue to monitor its finances and the financial market during the year and hope for the best.
"We don't know what will happen in the market. Nobody is sure," he said. "I don't think we have been in this place economically in the world before."
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To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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Adam Falk, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, has been named the 17th president of Williams College. (Photo by Justin Knight)
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"Falk is named Williams College president"
Berkshire Eagle Staff, Tuesday, September 29, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN -- Adam Falk, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, has been named the next president of Williams College.
Falk, 44, will begin his duties April 1, according to Greg Avis, the chairman of the college's board of trustees who headed the presidential search committee. He will be Williams' 17th president since its founding in 1793.
Falk succeeds Morton Schapiro, who left last year to head Northwestern University. He arrived in the Berkshires last night for his introduction at 4 p.m. today at Chapin Hall on the Williams campus.
The trustees were "captivated by Adam's intelligence, passion, warmth and outstanding record of leadership," Avis said in a statement released late Monday to the Williams community.
"[His] values align remarkably with those of Williams," the statement said. "He is deeply and broadly curious and instinctively collegial. He sets the highest standards, yet is very down to earth."
During a phone interview with The Eagle, Falk said he's "very gratified and pleased" to be taking the reins of one of the pre-eminent liberal arts colleges in the county.
He's also confident that his skills will make him a good college president.
"I'm a very honest and committed listener," added Falk. "You shouldn't be in this line of work if people aren't important to you."
Falk will lead a campus of roughly 2,000 undergraduates, 50 graduate students, 312 faculty and 800 staff members and guide its $1.8 billion endowment, which has dropped during the national financial crisis. Its fiscal 2010 budget runs about $206 million.
Williams consistently ranks as one of the nation's top private liberal arts colleges and is one of the most competitive institutions to gain admittance.
Falk, a North Carolina native, began his academic career doing physics research and eventually becoming a physics professor before moving into college administration.
After completing undergraduate studies at University North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1987) and receiving his doctorate in physics from Harvard University (1991), Falk conducted research at the Stanford (Calif.) Linear Accelerator Center and then at the University of California, San Diego. He switched to a teaching career at Johns Hopkins in 1994, eventually becoming a full professor before ascending to the dean's position in the School of Arts and Sciences.
Search committee members said Falk will be a good fit at Williams College.
"It is obvious from his own accomplishments that Adam is committed to academic excellence," said board of trustees member Clayton Spencer, "[but] equally focused on values and culture and how one builds community."
Falk also impressed faculty and students in his visits during the search process.
"As students, we felt an instant connection to Adam Falk," said senior and committee member Elizabeth Brickley. "His energy and intellectual curiosity are simply contagious."
Falk's colleagues at Johns Hopkins aren't surprised Falk is moving on.
"It was bound to happen," said Paula Berger, vice provost at Johns Hopkins.
"When I read the statement of qualifications and experience developed by the Presidential Search Committee," she said. "I said, ‘That's Adam.'"
Falk and his wife, Karen, have three children: Briauna, 14, David, 8 and Alex, 7.
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To reach Dick Lindsay: rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com, or (413) 496-6233.
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"Williams College names new president"
By The Associated Press, 9/29/2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts (AP) - Williams College has announced that a theoretical physicist will be the school's 17th president.
The appointment of Adam Falk was announced in a Web letter Monday from Gregory Avis, chair of the Williams Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee.
The 44-years-old Falk, dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, will succeed interim president William Wagner on April 1, 2010.
As dean at Johns Hopkins, Falk oversaw steady increases in admissions selectivity and the establishment of a new office of multicultural affairs.
Falk was named after the college formed a 16-member Presidential Search Committee of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
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http://capitalnews9.com/the-berkshires-news-34-content/top_stories/483730/williams-college-names-new-president
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"College bosses joining ranks of millionaires"
By Justin Pope, Associated Press, November 2, 2009
The fast-growing group of millionaire private college and university presidents hit a record in recent years, and it's likely more college leaders will make sevenfigure salaries once the slumping economy rebounds.
A record 23 presidents received more than $1 million in total compensation in fiscal 2008, according to an analysis of the most recently available data published Monday by the Chronicle of Higher Education. A record one in four in the study of 419 colleges' mandatory IRS filings made at least $500,000.
Topping the list is Shirley Ann Jackson at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., whose total compensation the Chronicle pegged at nearly $1.6 million. She was followed by David Sargent at Suffolk University in Boston, who made $1.5 million. However, onethird of his compensation had been reported as deferred compensation last year and counted as salary this year - an example of the difficulty of making straightforward compensation comparisons.
Overall, median compensation for the group rose 6.5 percent to $ 359,000, and 15.5 percent at major private research universities, to $ 628,000. The figures essentially cover the 2007- 2008 academic year.
Those averages have almost certainly flattened or perhaps fallen since then, with numerous presidents - including Jackson - taking voluntary pay cuts this year amid widespread budget-cutting at their institutions.
But experts say the upward trend will almost certainly resume eventually. It may frustrate parents who are paying higher tuition, but experts insist the salaries reflect supply and demand.
"The baby boomers are retiring," said Ray Cotton, a Washington D. C.- based lawyer and expert on presidential contracts and compensation. "Boards are in a scramble competing against each other for the remaining available talent."
But the 24-7 nature of the job and the stresses stemming from the recession have made it unappealing to prospective candidates. "Some people just don't want anything to do with the job because it keeps them up at night," said Chronicle editor Jeffrey Selingo. "In order to attract and retain good talent they're going to have to pay for it."
Still, colleges will have to absorb the public relations hit that comes with offering seven- figure compensation to an academic leader. The average price of tuition plus room and board at four-year private colleges surpassed $ 39,000 last year, according to the latest figures from the College Board.
The Chronicle noted that 58 institutions charged more than $50,000 this year, up from just five last year. A number of those schools pay their presidents more than $1 million, including New York University, Columbia and Vanderbilt.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TTG9RMH1CVOTETHQG
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Adam F. Falk took the helm as the 17th president of Williams College on Thursday. (Gillian Jones/North Adams Transcript)
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"Williams College’s new president, Adam Falk, embraces his new position, location"
By Meghan Foley, North Adams Transcript, April 3, 2010
WILLIAMSTOWN -- One of the first things Williams College’s 17th president did upon taking the reins of the institution on Thursday was become a registered town voter.
He also got a Massachusetts driver’s license.
"It’s very important when you come to a new place to embrace it," Adam F. Falk, 44, said Friday. "As of yesterday, I am a resident of Williamstown, and it feels really good."
One of the aspects of Williamstown Falk is looking forward to embracing is the town meeting on May 18.
"All of democracy is not a spectator sport, but a participatory sport," he said. "The fact there is a meeting that grants people the power to make decisions, and not just complain, I find fascinating."
With the college in spring break, Falk has spent the first two days of his presidency mostly getting to know the area, and responding to several messages he has received welcoming him to Williams.
"It’s a beautiful area, and the people are incredibly friendly. It’s a very different life from Baltimore," he said.
While Falk plans to spend his first year listening to the Williams community, one of his primary focuses is maintaining the quality of the liberal arts education offered by college.
"I wanted to come here because this is a terrific college for the education it offers. If I had a single highest priority, it would be to make sure it stays that way," Falk said.
Prior to becoming president of Williams College, Falk was dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. While he enjoyed that position, he is excited to be in a leadership role that will allow him to advocate for the liberal arts education on a national level.
Being born and raised in Chapel Hill, N.C., which is home to the University of North Carolina, Falk knows very well the importance of the relationship between a college and a community.
Williams College is the one main industry for Williamstown, as is the case with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, he said. As a result, a college town and its college depend on each other, he said.
"Williams College can’t be successful without Williamstown being successful, and Williamstown can’t be successful without Williams College being successful," he said.
He said he has already met with Williamstown Town Manager Peter L. Fohlin, and is looking forward to continuing to foster a partnership between the college and town.
Falk, a theoretical physicist, takes over the presidency of Williams College at a time when its endowment has plunged due to the volatile and unpredictable financial market, and the institution is under a hiring and wage freeze.
He credits his predecessors and Williams’ leadership team with keeping the college on a steady course financially, and plans to spend the upcoming fiscal years "right-sizing" the college’s budget.
"Williams College is very wealthy by all comparisons except with the Williams of three years ago. We’re still very fortunate to have the financial resources we have, but when the endowment drops in the way it has dropped, there is less money to be spent, and we need to make decision what not to do," he said.
He said the amount of faculty and staff grew greatly during the late 1990s and early 2000s when the economy was good, and now that it has turned, it’s becoming unsustainable for the college to support those personnel numbers.
With an early retirement incentive program being offered this year, Falk said that depending on who takes advantage of it, there could be some reorganizing of departments and offices.
He doesn’t anticipate reorganization and some cutting back on spending having a negative effect on the quality of education provided at Williams.
In addition, Falk said he is committed to maintaining Williams’ reputation of having one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country intact.
The mutlimillion dollar capital projects to remodel Weston Field and renovate Stetson Hall into a new library will continue to be on hold until spring 2011, Falk said. At that time, the possibility of starting construction will be re-evaluated again, he said.
The time in between will give the college the opportunity to re-examine the projects especially the Sawyer/Stetson Library, he said.
The two things that need to be looked at with the library project is its sustainability and flexibility, he said.
"The way we use a library will change over the next 20 or 30 years, and we need to make sure the library is built to allow that flexibility," he said.
Falk’s wife, Karen, and their three children, Briauna, 14, David, 9, and Alex, 7, will join him as residents of Williamstown following the completion of the school year in June.
Falk said they’re excited about moving to the Berkshires and into such a caring and trusting community.
"During one of our visits here, my wife and I went to visit the elementary school. When we came in the back door, I noticed all the bicycles kids had piled up outside were unlocked. When a kid rides a bicycle to school and doesn’t need to lock it up, I think that speaks to a lot of what is appealing about this community, and the level of trust people have in each other," he said.
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To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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Marty Meehan will make $769,500 during his first year as UMass president. Joanne Rathe/Boston Globe Staff/File.
"UMass to pay incoming president $769,500 in salary, perks"
By Laura Krantz, Boston Globe Staff, May 21, 2015
Incoming UMass president Martin T. Meehan will make $769,500 during his first year on the job, including salary and benefits, according to terms of his five-year contract released Thursday.
The deal to oversee the five-campus university system will pay him less than his predecessor Robert Caret, but includes a penalty if he leaves before the end of the agreement.
Meehan’s overall compensation package will rise to $869,000 in 2019. Those figures include annual performance bonuses, retirement and life insurance contributions, and housing and car allowances.
The increases amount to about a 3.5 percent raise each year for Meehan in base salary, which starts at $525,000 when he begins in July and will rise to $602,000 five years from now. Caret’s annual raise was about 4.5 percent.
Meehan, who made $459,000 this year as chancellor of UMass Lowell, said Thursday he is pleased to have the contract negotiations behind him. In the past, he has said he has no intention of leaving early.
“This is my dream job and I am excited to get started,” he said in a statement.
For the first time, trustees stipulated in the agreement that if Meehan breaks his contract, as Caret did, the president will owe UMass a penalty that begins at $150,000 next year and shrinks to $50,000 by 2019.
Caret announced in December that he would leave UMass to head Maryland’s university system, two months after trustees had negotiated a new contract for him that would have paid him $952,000 in overall compensation by 2018, the final year of his contract. Caret would have earned a $600,000 base salary that year.
Unlike Caret’s contract, Meehan’s includes no deferred compensation payments, which would have awarded Caret an extra $200,000 over the life of his contract.
Meehan will get annual performance bonuses of 11 percent his base salary and retirement contributions of 18 percent his salary. Caret received 15 percent bonuses and 20 percent retirement contributions.
Contact Laura Krantz at laura.krantz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurakrantz.
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The UMass Integrated Science Complex, which opened in January, was the first new academic building on the Boston campus in almost 40 years. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Opinion | Robert L. Caret - "UMass students will face a rise in fees" - The Boston Globe - June 8, 2015
Over the past two years, Massachusetts has been a national leader in providing support for its public research university — boosting funding for the five-campus UMass system by an eye-catching $100 million.
And the state’s financial investment translated into something truly remarkable: The average net cost of attending UMass declined for the first time in recent memory, decreasing by more than $200 per student for the academic year just completed. Our leaders on Beacon Hill should take a bow – and I know that students and their families breathed sighs of relief.
Looking ahead, the state budget for 2015-2016 has not been finalized, so we don’t know how much money UMass will receive, but it will be between the House’s $519 million and the Senate’s $537 million. Either would represent an increase over the current $511 million, but neither would appear to be enough to spare UMass its first fee increase in three years, so an increase of some magnitude seems inevitable.
Although Massachusetts has been at the head of the funding class over the past two years, we had a lot of catching up to do, since funding for UMass had been flat for more than a decade leading up to this period.
My ardent hope is that the Commonwealth, dealing with budget problems of its own, regards this as a one-year retreat from a long-term major fiscal commitment to UMass and will not slip back into an era of relative inattention. Over the years, UMass has demonstrated that it is very good at doing more with less, but “more with less” is not a good long-term strategy for a state that builds its economy on a foundation of brainpower.
I leave my post as president of UMass at the end of this month to become chancellor of the University System of Maryland. I will oversee a public university system where the flagship campus at College Park this past year received a state subsidy of $15,860 per student. Looking further south, the subsidy at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was $16,595 per student.
But here in Massachusetts, even after our $100 million increase, state funding per student for our flagship campus in Amherst during the past year was $9,025 – dramatically less than the level we see in North Carolina and Maryland, two states that compete head to head with Massachusetts in the global innovation economy. This is not a good position for Massachusetts, which will be going into battle against states that are spending dramatically more to arm their flagships.
Having seen the University of Massachusetts take major steps forward over the past four years, I fervently hope that UMass will receive the support it deserves and needs in the years ahead — as an investment in UMass truly is an investment in the Commonwealth and its future.
Robert L. Caret is president of the UMass system.
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Maud S. Mandel, a dean at Brown University in Providence, R.I., has been named the next president of Williams College. Mandel, who will begin her tenure in July, will be the college's first woman president. Photo provided by Williams College
“Williams College names Maud Mandel, dean at Brown, as new president”
By Staff writer(s), The Berkshire Eagle, March 13, 2018
WILLIAMSTOWN — Williams College has appointed Maud S. Mandel, dean of the college and professor of history and Judaic studies at Brown University, as its 18th president.
Mandel, who will begin her tenure in July, will be the first woman president at Williams.
She will succeed Protik (Tiku) Majumder, who has served as interim president since Jan. 1. Majumder replaced former President Adam F. Falk, who stepped down in December after eight years in the post.
"Maud embodies the values at our core and will provide exceptional leadership as we continue to pursue our shared aspirations for Williams," said Michael Eisenson, chairman of both the Williams board of trustees and the college's Presidential Search Committee, in an email to the college community.
As dean at Brown, Mandel has been deeply involved in efforts to advance diversity and inclusion, including promoting programs to foster retention for historically underrepresented students in the STEM fields, according to a release from the college. She also led a collaborative process with students and staff to open the First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center, the first center at any Ivy League school to be dedicated to first-generation students.
“The committee found Maud's passion for liberal arts education infectious and her commitment to deepening and enhancing inclusion and diversity stirring," says Ngonidzashe Munemo, Williams' associate dean for institutional diversity, associate professor of political science and member of the Presidential Search Committee.
A strong proponent of the liberal arts, Mandel established the Brown Learning Collaborative, aimed at strengthening student learning in the core competencies of a liberal arts education, including writing, reading, research, data analysis, problem-solving and public speaking, according to the release.
"She is an impressive scholar who is clearly energized by her work with undergraduates," says Safa Zaki, Williams' professor of psychology, chairman of the Faculty Steering Committee and member of the Presidential Search Committee. "She has a deep respect for faculty governance, with a record of collaborative leadership. I am particularly struck by her humility and her ability to listen. I have no doubt that she will strengthen our community."
Mandel earned a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1989 and completed a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1998. After coming to Brown as a visiting assistant professor in 1997 she joined the university's faculty permanently in 2001, rising to professor of history and Judaic studies in 2014. She also held leadership roles in the university's Department of History and the Program in Judaic Studies, including a term as director of the program from 2012 to 2014. She became dean of the college in 2014.
"Both inside the classroom and as a senior academic leader, Maud Mandel's impact on the undergraduate experience at Brown has been nothing short of transformative," says Brown University President Christina Paxson. "Maud is a deeply knowledgeable higher education leader, a relentless champion for undergraduates and a truly inspiring colleague. We have been fortunate that she has made Brown her home for the last two decades, and I commend Williams College on its outstanding selection for its next president."
Mandel's husband, Steve Simon, and two children, Lev and Ava, will join her when she arrives at Williams this summer.
"I have always known that Williams was an extraordinary institution, and I've had the pleasure over the last few months as I've engaged in this process to really learn much more about why Williams occupies this spot," Mandel said in the release. "And it is in that process that I have become so deeply drawn to this opportunity. I am excited to lead this extraordinary campus into the next phase of its development."
Past presidents ...
Ebenezer Fitch (1793-1815)
Zephaniah Swift Moore (1815-21)
Edward Dorr Griffin (1821-36)
Mark Hopkins (1836-72)
Paul Ansel Chadbourne (1872-81)
Franklin Carter (1881-1901)
Henry Hopkins (1902-08)
Harry Augustus Garfield (1908-34)
Tyler Dennett (1934-37)
James Phinney Baxter III (1937-61)
John Edward Sawyer (1961-73)
John Wesley Chandler (1973-1985)
Francis Christopher Oakley (1985-93)
Harry Charles Payne (1994-99)
Carl W. Vogt (1999-2000)
Morton Owen Schapiro (2000-09)
Adam Falk (2010-17)
Maud Mandel (2018- )
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Our Opinion: “A significant selection as Williams' new head”
The Berkshire Eagle, Editorial, March 14, 2018
Williamstown's Purple Valley is gaining a new resident. Williams College, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning, has named its latest president by unanimous vote of the college's board of trustees. Maud S. Mandel, 18th in a distinguished line of academic leaders spanning centuries, arrives in the Berkshires from Providence, Rhode Island, where she has been serving as a faculty member and dean of Brown University. Ideally, the fact that Ms. Mandel is the first woman appointed to head the school would not be noteworthy, but considering the gender bias that still exists at all levels of American society, the Williams board ought to be congratulated for choosing not only a female, but one so eminently qualified for the position that she would have made an excellent choice, regardless.
Williams, an all-male college for almost 200 years, first admitted women at the dawn of the 1970s, and after an initial period of adjustment has produced alumni roughly evenly divided by gender. It is therefore appropriate and overdue that a woman should finally take the helm. Moreover, Ms. Mandel's qualifications and scholarship in the liberal arts are a perfect fit for Williams — she studied at the undergraduate level at Oberlin College in Ohio, earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan, and as a history professor at Brown has published several publications focusing on Jewish and Muslim studies. She has been recognized with fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society, to name a few.
Scholarship, of course, is a fundamental prerequisite for heading an educational institution. However, it is Ms. Mandel's devotion to projects like guaranteeing all Brown undergraduates at least one funded summer internship opportunity and opening Brown's first institution for helping first-generation and low-income students assimilate into student life where her presence is likely to make the most impact. Williams has, in the last several decades, actively sought out such students to enrich a learning environment that had been traditionally populated by the scion of the privileged. Its "need-blind" admissions policy, guaranteeing tuition funding for all accepted students tailored to their ability to pay, is testament to a philosophy of inclusion and an acknowledgement of the value of a diverse student body — a philosophy to which Ms. Mandel's appointment is a logical extension.
Like other similar institutions, Williams has had to make its way in an educational environment that has come to question the relevance of a liberal arts education in an era when the sciences and technology are reigning as fields most likely to lead to well-paying jobs. So far, the college's reputation for excellence has spared it the concessions some of its counterparts have had to make to attract students, for example the offering of courses more focused on training for specific occupations. Among all the other burdens President Mandel will shoulder — fundraising being primary among them — it will be her responsibility to make a robust case for Williams' existence as a preeminent exemplar of "an institution that produces minds that are trained for nothing but prepared for anything," to quote one of her predecessors.
Ms. Mandel will not be left to pursue her course alone; she will be supported by an extraordinarily loyal body of alumni whose ties to their alma mater are deep and abiding. Her new job instantly catapults her into a position as one of the more influential members of the Berkshires community, and we urge her to continue and expand the college's many outreaches to its surrounding area, like its student teaching initiatives for prisoners and local schools. Without knowing the list of all the candidates, it's impossible to be sure, but it is hard to imagine anyone better qualified to assume this position than Dr. Mandel. The fact that she is the first woman to serve as Williams' president is a most welcome, unintended benefit. We wish her well, with the confidence that one of the county's brightest stars remains in capable hands.
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Maud Mandel is inducted Saturday as the 18th - and the first female - president of Williams College in Williamstown. Stephanie Zollshan - The Berkshire Eagle
Faculty members enter Chapin Hall for the induction ceremony Saturday of Maud Mandel as the 18th president of Williams College in Williamstown. Stephanie Zollshan - The Berkshire Eagle
Brown University President Christina Paxson addresses the crowd Saturday, during the induction ceremony for Maud Mandel as the first female president of Williams College in Williamstown. Stephanie Zollshan - The Berkshire Eagle
Maud Mandel waves Saturday as faculty members pass her in a procession to her induction ceremony as the 18th president of Williams College in Williamstown. Stephanie Zollshan - The Berkshire Eagle
“New Williams College president 'connected to those who found freedom and to those it was denied'”
By Haven Orecchio-Egresitz, The Berkshire Eagle, September 8, 2018
Williamstown — As Maud Mandel was inducted Saturday as the 18th president of Williams College — she is the first woman to ever hold the title — she and others shared a message of inclusion, diversity and engagement.
The college's historic Chapin Hall was filled with faculty, staff, students, and friends and family of Mandel, who all welcomed her to the community.
"As you know, Williams is celebrating 50 years of coeducation," she told the crowd. "So, while at one point in recent history I, as a woman, could not have matriculated here, I now stand here before you as the first woman president of the school that graduates hundreds of women every year, and has committed to providing access and opportunity to students of all kinds."
Mandel, the former dean of students at Brown University, is a historian who has examined how policies and practices of inclusion and exclusion in 20th-century France have affected ethnic and religious minorities.
Mandel is the granddaughter of Austrian-Jewish refugees. After the ship her mother was onwas turned away from the United States, Cuba and Canada, the passengers were returned to Europe. Her mother landed in Great Britain, where she was safe, she said.
Mandel's great-grandmother and namesake, and members of four generations of her great-grandmother's family, were killed in Poland, she said.
"In that way, I am connected to those who found freedom and to those it was denied," she said at her induction ceremony. "These histories, of my mother's narrow escape and of the murder of her extended family, were formative to my thinking about our collective obligations to inclusion and justice."
Michael Eisenson, chairman of the college's board of trustees, praised Mandel for her "profound commitment to diversity in its fullest definition."
During the long interview process, Mandel made many observations about Williams. The one that resonated most to Eisenson was that "student activism is to be embraced and encouraged as the much preferred alternative to lack of interest."
"With Maud Mandel as both a member and a leader of our community, I believe that Williams College will continue to attract an excellent and ever-more-engaged and diverse faculty, staff and student body, all of whom will have every opportunity to enjoy success," he said.
Christina Paxson, president of Brown University, also spoke in praise of Mandel's commitment to students and said the decision to hire her was "inspired."
"This is a historic and special day for Williams, and it is one that will generate joy long after the sunset this evening. But it does come at a tumultuous time in this country," Paxon said. "Divisions persist around issues of race, identity, equity, free expression, the value of science and claims of truth."
And that social turbulence is playing out on college campuses, making it a valid question as to why anyone would want to be a college president at this time, she said, jokingly.
But Mandel, she said, is as prepared for the job as anyone can be.
Haven Orecchio-Egresitz can be reached at horecchio@berkshireeagle.com, @HavenEagle on Twitter and 413-770-6977.
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Letter: “Your tax dollars wasted at UMass”
The Berkshire Eagle, September 15, 2019
To the editor:
A letter some time ago defending the salary of a college professor inspired me to dig a bit. At Patch, I learned 95 of the 100 highest state earners are at UMass. And many are professors making 631,000, 468,000, and 408,000
No wonder football [now big time] can't win: The head coach only gets 503,000 annually over five years. Gov. Baker gets by with 250,000 a year.
It's good to know where tax dollars go. And why UMass needs big transfusions each year. And possibly why student loans are so big.
Bill Patterson, Williamstown
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