Worcester State University has launched Believe in Beyond, the largest and most ambitious philanthropic campaign in university history, anchored by an historic $1 million gift that will strengthen the pipeline of licensed public school teachers, President Barry Maloney announced Monday.
The $30 million, three-year fundraising campaign builds on the university’s 150-year record of excellence and positions the university to meet the region’s growing demand for talented, purpose-driven graduates. Believe in Beyond deepens student support, modernizes facilities and strengthens faculty and leadership programs that prepare students for success.
“Through Worcester State University’s Believe in Beyond campaign, we are taking bold action to ensure our students thrive during their time on campus and graduate ready to lead,” said Maloney. “Our students build successful careers from a foundation of academic excellence. These new investments will accelerate that momentum, elevating our graduates and the regional economy to new heights. ”
“Worcester State has a long history of creating opportunity for students and preparing graduates who strengthen our region,” said Lisa Colombo, DNP, MHA, RN, Chair of the Worcester State University Board of Trustees. “Believe in Beyond builds on that foundation by investing in the people, programs and experiences that help students succeed. It is an important investment in Worcester State and in the future of Central Massachusetts.”
Central Massachusetts is growing and the region needs more bachelor-credentialed professionals to meet workforce trends across industries. Worcester State has long met the demand for educators, healthcare professionals, civic and business leaders. Nine of every ten Worcester State University graduates stay in the region to build their careers. The campaign’s three pillars accelerate the university’s capacity to educate more students to lead the future of Central Massachusetts:
The Opportunity Gateway for Every Student
Worcester State University is committed to ensuring that talent, not income, decides who can enroll and graduate from college. The largest of the university’s fundraising priorities, Opportunity Gateway provides student scholarships that remove financial barriers; internships, co-ops, and study-away opportunities to strengthen student experiential learning; and services that support first-generation student success.
The Education Innovator for Central Massachusetts
The region’s hospitals and labs are short of people, not ideas, and Worcester State University students are tomorrow’s health sciences and STEM leaders. The Education Innovator invests in new modern wet labs, undergraduate research opportunities, and the Rosen Cancer Awareness Program.
The Region’s Model for Transformative Learning
Every Worcester State University graduate must be prepared to lead in a workplace continually shaped by AI. Transformative learning establishes endowed distinguished professorships, modernizes the university’s library, builds AI literacy across disciplines, and strengthens whole-student support services and the Latino Education Institute.
Believe in Beyond launches with a new $1 million leading gift by Worcester State University alumna Mary Cotter-Lemoine ’96 and David Lemoine to support adult learners in the public school system who are working to earn their bachelor’s degrees and teaching licensure.
The couple have previously given generously to support 26 students in Worcester State’s Paraeducator Program in the Education Department. The new gift significantly expands and enhances support for these working professionals to complete an undergraduate degree in elementary education or early childhood education and become licensed public school teachers, a pathway that Mary Cotter-Lemoine herself followed as a career changer and adult learner at Worcester State.
“Growing up in the 1950s with three sisters there was little emphasis in my family on doing well in school or going to college, and we didn’t,” said Mary Cotter-Lemoine. “In May 1992, at the end of my first semester at Worcester State I realized I was capable of being successful in college. The flexibility to schedule classes around my family’s lives (three children and a working husband) was an essential component of my success. As was the support of the library staff, math lab and both the English and Education Department professionals. We hope that by making this gift more adult learners will also be able to discover their potential at Worcester State.”
The Mary Cotter-Lemoine Teacher Education Support Fund for Adult Learners truly embodies the transformational impact of Believe in Beyond, said Maloney.
“Worcester State University is incredibly grateful to Mary and David for their vision, generosity and dedication to supporting teachers,” Maloney said. “By believing in our talented and hardworking paraprofessional students, they are opening the door of opportunity for generations of future teachers who have unparalleled classroom experience. Our public school systems need well qualified teachers more than ever.”
Believe in Beyond kicks off as Worcester State turns the corner on its 150th anniversary with historic achievements in outcomes. The university’s Postgraduate Outcomes Survey found 98% of graduates are employed or in graduate school within three months of graduation. State data show that five years out, Worcester State graduates have among the highest earnings of all Massachusetts public universities, and they have lowest student debt of all public universities in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Money Magazine just named Worcester State a 2026 Best College, based on graduation rates, costs, financial aid, student debt, and alumni salaries. And the 2027 Princeton Review ranked Worcester State among the “Best in the Northeast Colleges,” making the university the only Massachusetts state university to have been ranked for 22 consecutive years.
“Our campaign was designed with student success as the central focus and there is no better time than now to invest in their future,’ said Worcester State Foundation Chair Kevin Campbell. “Our university does incredible work in preparing students for entry into professional positions, but there are areas where donor provided funds will close resource gaps and create a path for expanding learning opportunities and raising the quality of their educational experience. State of the art laboratories, more comprehensive experiential learning activities, AI education and additional scholarships to keep students on track to reach their goals are well within reach with our Believe in Beyond campaign.”
Learn more about Believe in Beyond. (worcester.edu/believeinbeyond )
Photo: Worcester State students Remy Mabboux, Lynn Wanjiku, Yariel Lopez, and Safa Kahn. Photo by Matt Wright ’10
