Lawrence Wayne Markert, vice president for academic affairs at Hollins College, was the fourth and final candidate for president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to visit the campus March 1.
Hollins is a private college in Virginia with about 850 women undergraduate students, and some graduate-level programs, Markert said.
He has held his present position since 1997. Before that he was dean of the Evans School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Berry College, located in Georgia. In addition to his administrative experience, he has served as a professor of English at both institutions. Markert earlier served in a variety of capacities at the University of Baltimore.
He holds at D. Phil. and B. Phil. with an academic specialty in English literature from the University of Oxford, England, an M.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in English from the University of Baltimore. He has published numerous books, articles, and poems.
A staff member asked Markert during his visit if he thought of MCLA’s new mission of being a public liberal arts college with professional programs was positive.
“I see it as absolutely a positive direction for the college. And it was in fact the thing that attracted me to the position,†he said. “I would probably characterize it slightly differently, perhaps, than it is being characterized now.â€
He spoke of two relevant models to what the college is seeking to do. The first is the public liberal arts model, with a traditional array of liberal arts programs, defined as a public alternative to a private liberal arts college.
Another model can be found in colleges and universities that emphasize the traditional liberal arts foundation and seek ways to build selectively professional programs on this base.
“So I would say in fact that what you should be doing is what might be defined as the liberal arts-plus,†he said. “It’s a liberal arts foundation and base, array of programs, but selectively other professional programs that build upon that liberal arts education and link in innovative ways as much as possible with those programs.â€
A staff member asked Markert about the decimation of public higher education by budget cuts, specifically what ideas would he have to get the college through this.
“I’m clearly aware of the realities. We’re dealing with the same thing in Virginia to some degree, although the private sector is able to deal with it differently than the public sector,†he said.
Markert said he would have to find out what could be done at MCLA to deal with this. He said his focus would be on areas with flexibility.
“I guess it has to do with revenue, ways that you can acquire revenue,†he said. “One area, obviously, is going to be working with the legislature to try and change the perspectives of those people on higher education to recognize the value, the importance, etcetera, and the need to support it — and also recognize the degree to which the quality of the educational experience is being compromised.â€
Another way is to focus on enrollment.
“Enrollment will help to enhance the revenue streams of the institution — not as much as you would like,†he said. “And then the third thing is going to be private giving, ways in which you can use foundation to supplement the institution. That gives you a buffer.â€
Given these long-term suggestions, what would he do over the short term?
“I can’t ... comment specifically, because I just don’t know the details,†he said. “And there is no magic wand with [which] one could come in and say, ‘If you do this, then all your problems are solved.’ â€
He recommended “working as a group and trying to work your way through these problems and see how you can do it, with the idea in mind of protecting as much as possible the academic experience of the institution.â€
He was asked about his managerial style.
“You cannot, I think, be successful in higher education without being collaborative, collegial,†he said. “I do have strengths in that particular area. I like working with groups, small groups, large groups, trying to accumulate so to speak ‘best ideas.’
“In a group, I think I’m very good at synthesizing, bringing things together, getting consensus, agreement, and then moving forward in those directions,†he said.
When asked, Markert said he had no experience in working with unions.
“My experience has always been, even in the public sector, in non-union environments. And that’s going to be a completely new thing for me,†he said. “And I would have to depend upon you all to help me understand how that all works, how it can work in the most positive fashion possible.â€
Hollins is itself in the midst of a presidential search, and Markert confirmed that he is a candidate there.
“It’s a very unusual situation — in fact, a situation I support. But I do think that if it was at all possible, we should have a woman president at Hollins. And so I would defer to that,†he said. “If I could brag a little bit, I’m sort of suffering under the fact that I’m doing my job so well that there’s an interest in the board of trustees in not having me supplement what I’m doing.â€
“What’s happening at Hollins in terms of my candidacy for the position is that I’m a candidate without application, so to speak,†he said. “But as the process evolves, the search committee knows that I’m always there, and so if it turns out that they did not find the person that they want, then I would come into the mix. But I suspect that they’re really going to have a very good [applicant] pool.â€
Eugene Leibowitz, chairman of the MCLA board of trustees, is leading the search committee. The committee received more than 50 applications for the top position and narrowed the list to four finalists. They include Alan E. Dillingham, provost of St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Michael J. Bell, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Elmhurst College, located in Illinois; and 1983 MCLA graduate Mary K. Grant, chief executive officer and deputy CEO of UMassOnline.
Current MCLA President Thomas D. Aceto has announced that he will retire Aug. 31 after 10 years in the post. College officials will possibly announce the new president as early as the end of March.
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North Adams Water Safe to Drink
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Water Department says all water line breaks have been repaired and water restored to those affected areas.
The boil water order has been lifted by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Residents no longer have to boil water or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, food preparation, brushing teeth or washing dishes.
A partial lift of the Dec. 15 order was issued on Tuesday; as of Thursday, the requirement is no longer in effect for any areas of the city.
The water issues began on Friday after a water main broke in an inaccessible area behind the water treatment plant on Pattison Road. The drop in pressure and frigid temperatures led to breaks on American Legion Drive and by State Road and Biltmore Avenue.
It took all weekend to fix the main, and several more to repair the other breaks. During this time, residents experienced no water or low water pressure.
The Water Department says all repairs have been completed and that samples collected throughout the distribution system were free of total coliform and E. coli bacteria.
For more information, contact the North Adams Water Department at 413-662-3157.
The city has lifted a boil water order — with several exceptions — that was issued late Monday morning following several water line breaks over the weekend. click for more
The bridge had been closed to all vehicle traffic since March 2023 after being deemed structurally deficient by the state Department of Transportation. click for more
The Water Department has been responding to multiple water line breaks throughout the city since Friday, causing temporary loss of water in some areas. click for more
