Worcester State celebrated the start of its 150th academic year on Friday, Sept. 6, with a keynote address by Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega, Ph.D. His talk stressed the value of higher education for students and for communities and the importance of diversity—a timely message, as this year’s incoming class is the most diverse class of new students ever in Worcester State’s history.
Higher education, Commissioner Ortega said, provides uplift and mobility for students, and Worcester State has been doing this key service since its beginnings as a normal school, which enrolled women, who previously had no place in higher education. “I don’t think we often talk about institutions like Worcester State University and the contribution you’ve been making throughout your entire history: 150 years of contributing to an equity principle,” he said. “I think that’s still very much true in the way that the mission of this institution plays out today.”
President Barry Maloney welcomed Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega to campus for the start of the academic school year.
He acknowledged that people are questioning whether higher education is worth the investment. “It does make a difference in the lives of people,” he said, “but not just the people; it makes a difference in society and the way that they participate in it as well.”
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Higher Education is planning a number of initiatives, Ortega said, including increasing financial aid and allowing Pell eligible students—from families making less than $80,000 a year—to go to a public college or university at no cost for tuition and fees and with a modest stipend.
“It’s not enough to invest in students and families,” Commissioner Ortega said. “You must simultaneously invest in the institutions to achieve the outcomes that you’re looking to have with getting more people to come to our institutions. It’s not enough to just get them in. We’ve got to make sure that they persist and complete as well.”
This year saw an increase in transfer students and overall student retention at Worcester State, as well as student diversity. The university is nearing 40% of undergraduate students who hail from diverse racial backgrounds.
“This is very important,” President Barry Maloney said, “not only for our sense of belongingness among our students, but also because the Latinx population in particular here in the Worcester Public Schools and across the Commonwealth is growing.” Last year, the university was granted Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution status from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities with 18% of the undergraduate population being of Latinx background.
“We are an important institution for this community,” President Maloney said. “We are an important institution for our community, our students. We need to continue to figure out ways that we stay viable and thrive in the years going forward.”
“We’re in the business of making people’s lives better,” Commissioner Ortega said, “to make sure that they have better opportunities, not just for themselves, but their family. And in return, they’re going to make the society that we live in even better.”
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