Worcester State Foundation: Thirty years of advancing educational opportunity and academic excellence

In 1994, the state of Massachusetts provided $250,000 of seed money to incentivize public state colleges to do what larger and private universities had been doing for centuries: establish a foundation and raise private philanthropic dollars.

What was then Worcester State College jumped at the opportunity.

Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Worcester State Foundation in just three decades has transformed the campus, bolstered the education of thousands of students and enabled the university to seize one-time opportunities to grow. Today, as Worcester State University celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Foundation’s endowment now sits at close to $50 million and, each year, gives well over $1 million in direct student aid. The Foundation Board that manages the endowment includes a cross section of distinguished alumni, business leaders, and community leaders.

“The foundation has been an indispensable partner to the university, and I truly appreciate those who serve on its board,” President Barry M. Maloney said. “Through the foundation, we’ve been able to raise millions of dollars every year for university priorities, like faculty and student research, and to directly support our students.”

As a tax-exempt charitable organization, the foundation does countless things, both large and small, for the university, from cultivating relationships with alumni and donors and managing donations, to hosting an annual golf tournament that this year had more than 200 participants and raised over $115,000 for Worcester State student scholarships and educational programming.

Prior to the foundation’s establishment, if the university wanted to purchase property, it had to go through the state—a laborious and time-consuming process. “The foundation allows us to be more nimble,” said Foundation President and University Advancement Vice President Thomas McNamara ’94.

Since its inception, the foundation has allowed the university to purchase several properties for the betterment of the university, including the president’s house, a lot that now serves as the Worcester State Teaching Garden, and Temple Emanuel. The Foundation also accepted from alumni couple Gregg ’86 and Pam Rosen ’87 the gift of a home on Chandler Street that now houses the Latino Education Institute. It has also engaged in a strategic partnership with the Worcester Center for Crafts and supported the outfitting of multiple buildings on campus.

“Throughout a normal day on campus, a student encounters 20 to 30 items here that were made possible by the foundation,” said McNamara. “Laboratories, residence halls, cafeterias, auditoriums, Thea’s Pantry. The list goes on and on.”

Local businessman and Worcester native Ed Sherr did not attend Worcester State but has always known about the institution. “Growing up, Worcester State was known as a small teachers college,” he said. Recruited to the foundation’s board in 2007, Sherr has not only seen, but had a hand in much of the university’s growth, including the acquisition of the Temple Emanuel building and the renovation  of the John F. Coughlin Memorial football field and construction of Sheehan Hall, which houses student residences and the campus dining hall.  When Sherr brought his father and brother—also Worcester natives—to Sheehan Hall for lunch to show off the campus, they were amazed at the size of the campus. “They loved it. They couldn’t believe it.”

When Rosanne Matulaitis ’65 studied elementary education at Worcester State, there were only two buildings on campus. “The fact that there was a second building was wonderful because the year before I started, there was only one building,” said Matulaitis, whose father Eugene Sullivan served as the fifth president of Worcester State, from 1947 to 1970.

Over the years, she has watched the university grow, not just physically but academically. When she started at Worcester State, education was the only available degree. Now there are more than 80 majors and minors as well as numerous research and study abroad opportunities.

In its history, the foundation has supported more than 350 mini-grants for faculty and a Student Research Grant Fund, providing up to $10,000 annually to support undergraduate student research, scholarship, and creative activity.

All of that is thanks to the foundation, which now has an endowment of nearly $50 million. Sherr calls the foundation a great resource for the university. “It keeps people involved and keeps the growth of the school on a positive track,” he says. “The foundation and its endowment ensure that we have the sustainability to keep the school moving in the right direction.”

“It’s been very much a community effort,” said Steve Bostic ’77, M.Ed. ’86, who served on the Foundation Board from 2000 to 2010 and was a Trustee until 2014 . “You come into those board meetings and look around the table, they’re all a who’s who. They’re all people who made things happen.”

Student scholarships

From the beginning, student scholarships have always been the pillar of the Foundation’s support. In fact, there were scholarships in place before the creation of the foundation. A few of them, like the Spag’s Scholarship, endure to this day.

“Scholarships are important because everybody should have the right to a good education,” says Matulaitis, who serves on the foundation’s Scholarship Committee and has started three scholarships herself.

Scholarship funds, which are managed and administered by the foundation, help more students access not only a degree but also other academic and professional opportunities.

The number of scholarships awarded to students has increased dramatically in the last few decades. Before the foundation was established, a small group of alumni with boundless dedication raised funds for scholarships. Through their hard work, the university was able to award 15 scholarships per year. Building upon their efforts, the Worcester State Foundation now awards approximately over 400 scholarships each year.

These scholarships make a huge difference in the lives of students. “The hundreds of scholarships awarded annually help to not only recruit students, but also ensure that they stay in school,” said Maloney. “Having a scholarship virtually guarantees that a student will graduate.”

Part of the reason for that is the obvious financial relief, allowing students to spend less time working to earn money and more time studying. Business major and active-duty Marine Blake Binda was able to buy a computer with the scholarship he received. Criminal justice and psychology major Lily Morgan was able to use her scholarship to afford tuition and applications to law school. The scholarship biology major Roy Karanja received allowed him to transition from a commuter to a resident student.

But another reason is less obvious. As Matulaitis puts it, getting awarded a scholarship “tells the student ‘We have your back.’” It’s a sentiment that is echoed by students who have received scholarships.

“This is my first scholarship that I have received and it has strengthened my belief in myself,” said Lily Morgan, who received the Class of 2011 Student Leadership Scholarship. Communication major Kyram Pou Jr. said, “I am so glad to see that others have seen my financial need as well as my academic strengths.”

Andja Kola was working three jobs and maintaining the highest GPA in her class when she was awarded the Robert Ivor O’Brien Memorial Scholarship. “It feels great to get recognition as a student with a long way ahead and to know that my work is being seen,” she said.

Center of influence

“I have a passion for Worcester,” Sherr said. “It’s the type of city where there are six degrees of separation. Everybody knows everybody and takes care of everybody.”

As President and CCO of Worcester business Carl P. Sherr & Co., LLC, Sherr has developed a paid internship program at his firm that many Worcester State students have participated in. Several of these internships led to full-time jobs at the firm. Sherr praises the Worcester State students he has met and worked with. “These kids are hungry. They want to succeed,” he said. “A lot of them don’t come from great financial resources, so it’s great that we’re able to provide that assistance.”

Sherr uses the term “center of influence” to describe where he can help or encourage someone. He is seeing Worcester State develop its own center of influence in multiple arenas.

Matulaitis also sees this center of influence. “You give money to students and hope that it will help them,” she said. “That money is paid back to you in services that they do when they graduate. I see former students who are now doctors or the mechanic that fixes your car or attorneys or engineers.”

The students themselves are prepared to join that center of influence. Pou Jr. says the generosity of donors, “inspires me to strive for excellence in my studies and to give back to my community.” Kola said that receiving a scholarship “reminded me that there are people with good intentions, willing to be near those in need like myself, and has inspired me to help others by giving back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to financially assist other students to make their dreams true.”

This story first appeared in the 2024 Donor Impact Statement.

Photo: From left to right, Charlotte MacGregor ’26, Lily Morgan ’25, Kyram Pou Jr. ’25, Alexandra Jean-Louis ’26, Andja Kola ’26. Photo by Matt Wright ’10.