Latest news with #ClarkUniversity
New York Times
05-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
A Century Ago, Adolescents Weren't Fully Human
A parent could be forgiven for thinking that adolescents are primitive. They speak in monosyllables ('Food!'), if they speak at all. Their cognition can described as dim. ('Where are my shoes!? Oh, they're on my feet.') As a group, they seem to be not merely not-yet-mature-humans but not-yet-fully-humans-at-all — Homo habilis maybe, Neanderthals at best. Take heart in this impression. A century ago, when adolescent psychology first emerged as a field of study, that was exactly the thinking: Teenagers are literally not fully evolved; they are pre-human. The main proponent of this idea was G. Stanley Hall, a psychologist and educator at Clark University who in 1878 had received, from Harvard, the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States. At the time, adolescence was not just a mystery but a nonentity. For centuries leading up to the Industrial Age, young humans went directly from childhood into the work force and reproductive mode. The economy permitted no room for semi-productive adolescents, much less anything like teen culture. There had been echoes of teen angst. William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' appeared in 1597. 'The Sorrows of Young Werther,' the 1774 novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, tells the story of a young man who, in pursuit of love, navigates melancholy, euphoria, suicidal ideation and, eventually, unrequited feelings that end in tragedy. The book was part of a late-18th-century German literary movement known as Sturm and Drang, which identified tumult and stress as defining characteristics of impulsive, romantic young people. Hall, born in Massachusetts in 1844, came of age amid major social and demographic change. With improvements in medicine, sanitation and living conditions, the life span of the average American was increasing, from roughly 40 in 1800 to near 50 by 1900. Progressive reformers sought to combat the ills of industrialization and called for compulsory elementary education; gradually, more working-class families opted for high school, because more learning could lead to better wages. These forces combined to wedge a new time period between childhood and adulthood. Hall was among the first scholars to try to name and explain it.'Up until Hall, there was an amorphous general notion that there was this period of life that was different,' said Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a psychologist at Temple University and expert on adolescence. 'What Hall did was connect the dots. He was the first person to put it all together.' He added, 'He had some ideas that were wacky and some that were brilliant.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oxford's Geoffrey Esper takes fourth on the Fourth at Nathan's hot dog contest; Chestnut wins again
Geoffrey Esper, the fast-eating teacher from Oxford, placed fourth in Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July Fourth at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. As expected, the title went to Joey Chestnut, his 17th at the holiday event. Esper's total of 44 hot dogs in 10 minutes was impressive, but not enough to outdo Chestnut's buffet of 70.5 dogs. Once again, Esper wore a worn Boston Red Sox cap during the competition. Esper, 50, has strong ties to Central Mass. He is a teacher at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Clark University. Esper has a handful of second-place finishes at the holiday event. He placed second a year ago, when Chestnut was sidelined and Patrick Bertoletti emerged with the crown. He placed second to Chestnut the three prior years. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Oxford's Geoffrey Esper takes fourth on the Fourth at Nathan's hot dog contest
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clark U. was booming 3 years ago. How they got to laying off 30% of faculty
Three years ago Clark University in Worcester had its largest incoming class ever — 705 students. Since then, enrollment has been down 'more than expected,' according to John Magee, Clark's provost and vice president of academic affairs. 'It's certainly hard to say if it's a trend, but ... it's something we want to make sure that we're in front of and not just sitting around in two years saying: 'Oh, we should have done something,'' Magee said. The incoming class is underenrolled by around 100 students — leading to lay offs of up 30% of faculty and 5% of staff, according to a Tuesday announcement. Most of the layoffs Magee hopes will come from retirement and attrition over the next two to three years, he said. Read more: How a college closing disaster led to new student protections in Mass. The enrollment gain in 2022 was likely due to a bounce back from the pandemic, Magee said. However, like many other small institutions across the United States and in the state, Clark is facing difficulties with enrollment because of a 'demographic cliff,' where there are fewer traditionally college-aged students in the United States. He also pointed to declining trust in higher education and the questioning of its value as reasons for declining enrollment, Magee said. While Clark is keeping a close eye on Trump administration actions, it isn't the reason for the layoffs, Magee said. The layoffs at Clark come after Worcester Polytechnic Institute laid off 24 employees due to pressures from rising costs and uncertainty regarding the Trump administration's policies on higher education. In Massachusetts, over two dozen colleges and universities have closed or merged over the past decade due to financial and enrollment difficulties. Most recently, Eastern Nazarene College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Quincy, announced in June that it would close due to financial issues. Bard College at Simon's Rock said in November it would close its campus due to declining enrollment. As Clark confronts a difficult enrollment reality, the institution is aiming to be 'proactive,' in part by reconfiguring its academic programs. 'Clark is reasonably well resourced. We have the time and the opportunities to make some large strategic changes over the next, frankly, four or five years,' Magee said. 'So this isn't a one-year knee jerk reaction. This isn't that we're in danger of closing or needing to merge, we really have the opportunity to start doing some things different here,' he said. It will be divided into Climate, Environment & Society; Media Arts, Computing & Design; and Health & Human Behavior. It is part of a strategic planning process that began in 2022 called Clark Inspired, Magee said. In January, the institution announced it would be launching a new School of Climate, Environment, and Society in fall 2025 and hired a new dean for it. Read more: Why transforming vacant college campuses into housing isn't easy 'Part of the strategy is both addressing that value proposition — having areas that we have historic strength and newfound strength on — leaning into those as what Clark should really be well known for as a way of addressing kind of the overall enrollment trends, the demographic cliff, the public perceptions,' Magee said. The planning process also includes eliminating lower-enrolled majors, including French and Francophone studies, Comparative Literature, Ancient Civilization and Studio Art. Studio Art will be maintained as a minor and a visual arts program will likely take its place, Magee said. 'Our reorganization gives us the foundation for having Clark thrive in the future for a long period of time, really meet the market, be more agile, ensure that we have outstanding student outcomes, both on the curricular side and the student life side so that students really want to be here. They're getting value out of what we have,' Magee said. 'That's both the challenge and the opportunity,' he said. As Harvard fights Trump admin in court, professors are quietly dropping courses Clark University to lay off up to 30% of faculty amid enrollment woes 'Incredibly ironic': Trump antisemitism effort may force out Harvard's Israeli Jews MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech from commencement Why the fight over foreign students at Harvard has some US students leaving, too Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Central Mass. university to lay off 30% of faculty amid enrollment woes
Clark University in Worcester is planning to lay off up to 30% of faculty and 5% of staff while restructuring degree programs due to enrollment and financial challenges, according to the institution. 'All of higher education, Clark included, is at a critical inflection point,' Clark University President David Fithian said in a statement. 'Rather than simply meet this challenging moment as an exercise in budget constraint, we have taken a longer view, leaning into current strengths and what is best about Clark to offer our students an even more compelling experience going forward.' The announcement comes in part as a reaction to the incoming first-year class not hitting the mark for how many students the institution aims for. The incoming class is underenrolled by 80 to 100 students, the institution said. Read more: Why transforming vacant college campuses into housing isn't easy The layoffs come after Worcester Polytechnic Institute laid off 24 employees due to pressures from rising costs and uncertainty regarding the Trump administration's policies on higher education. In Massachusetts, over two dozen colleges and universities have closed or merged over the past decade due to financial and enrollment difficulties. Most recently, Eastern Nazarene College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Quincy, announced in June that it would close due to financial issues. Bard College at Simon's Rock said in November it would close its campus due to declining enrollment. On top of layoffs at Clark, the university plans to reconfigure its academic programs. That includes eliminating lower-enrolled majors. It will be divided into Climate, Environment & Society; Media Arts, Computing & Design; and Health & Human Behavior. These 'align with student interests and create a wide range of career paths for Clark graduates,' which will create hubs for 'interdisciplinary learning, research, and community engagement,' according to the institution. 'Clark is strong, there is great enthusiasm for the Clark student experience, and we do important, impactful work around the world. The opportunity we are seizing now is to harness all of that and come forward with an even more compelling approach to education, more opportunities to advance innovative solutions to big, intractable global challenges, and a more sustainable operating model. That is precisely what our plan for the future accomplishes,' Fithian said. 'Incredibly ironic': Trump antisemitism effort may force out Harvard's Israeli Jews MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech from commencement Why the fight over foreign students at Harvard has some US students leaving, too Harvard affinity group graduations held off campus amid 'capitulation' to Trump Harvard commencement speaker says it's fitting to 'hear from an immigrant like me' Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clark University announces plans to scale down operations; layoffs coming
(This story has been updated with additional information.) WORCESTER ― Clark University is planning substantial cutbacks and restructuring as the school grapples with lower enrollment and the public's changing attitude toward college, with a quarter of faculty expected to be laid off over the next two years. "Now is a challenging time for those in higher education," Clark President David Fithian said. "We are announcing this plan to refocus what you would call our educational offerings from a student perspective." In an interview with the Telegram & Gazette, Fithian and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Magee said the university will be restructured, with all programming encompassed in three different broad fields of study in The School of Climate, Environment and Society; The Center for Media Arts, Computing and Design; and in health and human behavior. "We want to pick areas of academic studies where we know that we are good at," Fithian said. "For smaller institutions, you can't do everything equally well and we have to pick and choose what we are good at and what we are going to do going forward." While the university does not intend on cutting any programs, many of the programs will be placed to fit within the three main schools, streamlining a lot of the administrative process. Clark officials stated that approximately 25% to 30% of faculty will have their positions eliminated over the next two years, although that number may change. The layoffs are expected to affect non-tenured, pre-tenured and adjunct faculty. A decline in enrollment was cited as the biggest factor behind the changes. Fithian said the incoming freshman class, the Class of 2029, contains just 430 students, approximately 150 fewer than the school has averaged in the past. Fithian said the loss of students for the upcoming school year translates to approximately $7 million is less revenue. Fithian added that the school has lost around $1.5 million this year in grant funding from the federal government, while adding that the total could change and it's possible new grants could supplant lost revenue. "There are some grants that are still getting approved for different programs — obviously some grants are being targeted more than others (for cancellation) but it's possible we have more grant money in the future," Fithian said. Fithian said several factors led to declining enrollment — the first that prospective students and their families have become more discerning about the college process. "There is this doubt on whether going to college is the best path coming out of high school, and college has gotten expensive and more and more families are struggling to pay for it," Fithian said. "We get questions now about demonstrating outcomes — and the number one question we get is asking what Clark students are paid one to three years after graduating. You hear a lot more questions about what our students do if they are, for example, a political science major." Another factor is what those in higher education refer to as the "demographic cliff," an upcoming period where there will be a shortage of college-aged students, reflective of fewer births since the Great Recession in the late 2000s. Fithian said that the goal with the changes at Clark is to better position the school to thrive at what is anticipated to be a smaller scale. "Colleges and universities have survived for as long as they have because they have not undertaken a lot of risks," Fithian said. "What we are finding is that the environment that exists today will not allow for that. There is not this sense that if we just stay the course, others will revert to that. What we are doing is acknowledging that we need to change." At the graduate-school level, where a majority of the students are international, concerns about federal policy regarding student visas, including an incident in April in which 12 Clark students had their visas revoked, has led to apprehension about attending school in the United States. More: 12 Clark students have visas revoked in latest blow to Worcester's international students "A lot of schools attract a lot of international students, and there is a lot of pause and apprehension coming from international students," Fithian said. "Last year there was a delay in appointments for visas and we learned in August that a good number of students couldn't get a visa appointment until October, November or December. I'm worried about that happening again — the visa appointments may get delayed or outright denied." Fithian added that he said the school may consider selling off real estate in the future. Fithian said that moving forward, Clark and any other institute of higher learning needs to improve at showcasing the benefits of its education. "What we need to do a better job across the board in higher ed is not just explaining outcomes that go beyond first-year salaries out of college, but to better connect what we think of is liberal arts education, broad-based learning to make sure students are exposed to a scientific perspective, a historical perspective," Fithian said. "We need to do a better job demonstrating that the education we provide that connects those disciplines and the value that has to graduates." This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Clark University announces restructuring and faculty layoffs
