Board Meeting Recap

College leadership and the Commencement Committee have been busy reworking the previous plan set in place under the earlier guidelines from the Massachusetts Governor. The most recent guidance will now allow for one ceremony with a limited number of guests for the Class of 2021 Commencement on Saturday, May 22.

• Under the new regulations, we will be moving ahead with the following changes.
  One ceremony for all members of the Class of 2021 at Hempstead Stadium (undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies).
• Each graduating student will be able to invite up to two guests to attend in person. Two guest tickets will be unique to each student and will be non-transferrable to other students’ guests.
• Each students’ ticketed guest(s) will be socially distanced on the field or bleachers in groups of up to two.
• Live streaming will be available for additional family and friends who will not be able to attend in person.

Details regarding digital tickets, parking, COVID-19 policies, and more will be sent to the community as they are confirmed. We appreciate your patience as we quickly work to pivot our plans to celebrate the Class of 2021.

Last May, celebrations of academic achievement with peers, faculty, and family were postponed, canceled, or turned into digital and drive-by ceremonies across the nation and world. A lot has changed since then, but this pandemic is not fully behind us.  

After receiving feedback from many, the Class of 2020 will now celebrate their graduation at Homecoming & Family Weekend, October 1–3, 2021, where we will offer special event programming and activities including the chance to walk across the stage and accept an exclusive Endicott Class of 2020 gift. Please mark your calendars. We can’t wait to see you on campus.

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we plan how to safely celebrate all you achieved as the Class of 2020. 

The Board of Trustees voted to approve a new executive level position, Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer (VP-CDO). This important position will work in an integrated fashion across all campus divisions to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion remains top-of-mind in all decisions. Brandi Johnson, current Vice President of Student Affairs has been promoted to the VP-CDO role, reporting to President DiSalvo, today, March 1, 2021. Congratulations, Brandi.

In light of Brandi shifting to her new role, the current divisions of Student Affairs and College Communications & Marketing (CCM) will form the Division of Student & External Engagement. Bryan Cain, current Vice President of CCM will serve as the Vice President overseeing this new division.

Tony Ferullo’s position as Vice President of Finance & Chief Financial Officer will shift to the Vice President of Finance & Chief Operating Officer position effective immediately. This change reflects the operations which currently report to Tony including physical plant, campus safety and police, finance, information technology, and auxiliary services.

Officially joining in June, 2021

Robert C. Gore was the Managing Partner of the Boston office of Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm, where he led a staff of over 300 to become one of the firm’s most successful offices. He retired upon the merger with Watson Wyatt in 2010. His industry experience includes an emphasis in life sciences and financial services. Gore is currently on the board of Essex County Community Foundation where he serves on the Finance and Governance Committees. Additionally, he is a board member and immediate past Chairman of the Board of Windrush Farm Therapeutic Equitation, Inc., a nonprofit that provides equine-assisted activities and therapies to children and adults with special needs and at-risk youth. Previous board memberships include the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, where he Co-Chaired the Finance Committee; the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; Instinct Health Science, Inc.; and Sevo Neutraceuticals. Gore has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wyoming and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Boxford, Mass., with his wife, Judy. They have two grown daughters, Piper and Chandlee.

Officially joining in June, 2021

T. Michael “Mike” Rockett attended Coffin Elementary and Village Junior High, and graduated from Marblehead High School in 1983 and the Loomis Chaffee School in 1984. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988 from Saint Anselm College. Rockett represents the fifth generation living in Marblehead, and the third generation who served as a Marblehead selectman. Rockett owns Salem Waterfront Hotel & Suites and is a Principal in the family Marblehead-based business MR Rockett Management & Realty. He and his wife Patricia live in Marblehead. They have two children, Margaret and Tom.

Officially joining in October, 2021

Dr. Harry Dumay is President of the College of Our Lady of the Elms. Prior to joining Elms College, he was Senior Vice President for Finance & Chief Financial Officer at Saint Anselm College; Chief Financial Officer, Associate Dean for Finance & Information Technology at the Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences; and has also held leadership positions in finance and administration at Boston College and Boston University. Dumay has a B.S. degree magna cum laude in Mechanical Technology from Lincoln University, Missouri; an M.A. degree in Public Administration from Framingham State University; an MBA and graduate certificate in Corporate Finance from Boston University; and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Boston College.

Dumay has consulted on projects related to international higher education and economic development. He is a Commissioner & Treasurer for the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), a member of NECHE’s executive committee, and a member of NECHE’s Annual Report on Finance & Enrollment committee. Dumay is a Board member for the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Massachusetts (AICUM) and serves on the Student Aid Policy Committee of the National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities (NAICU) and on several other boards including the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, the Pope Francis Preparatory School, and the Haiti Development Institute at the Boston Foundation. Dumay lives in East Longmeadow, Mass., with his wife Maggie. They have two children, Joshua and Cassandra.

The Board of Trustees has approved the reorganization of the Academic Affairs Division as presented by Provost Beth M. Schwartz, Ph.D., which will help achieve Endicott’s academic vision, take place in phases, and includes the following.

New Student Recruitment

Graduate and adult/professional studies recruitment operations have been merged with the undergraduate division under Evan Lipp, Vice President of Admission & Financial Aid. Recruitment functions will be shifted to the Admission & Financial Aid Division and follow a more data driven recruitment process.

Schools & Curriculum

At the beginning of September 2021, the College will be moving from nine academic schools to seven.

• The School of Hospitality Management programs will be merged into the Curtis L. Gerrish School of Business, creating the major of Hospitality Management.
• The School of Arts & Sciences will become two separate schools: School of Science & Technology and the School of Social Sciences, Communication, & Humanities (where the current School of Communication will merge its majors and programs).
• The School of Education, School of Nursing, School of Sport Science, and School of Visual & Performing Arts remain as they currently are.
• The Van Loan School for Professional Studies will become the Van Loan Program for Adult Education and will be housed under the new Endicott Center for Teaching & Learning, led by a Director of Adult Education.

Endicott Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL)

The existing Division for Academic Success will be reorganized to create the new Endicott Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL). The current Dean of Academic Success will step into an Executive Director position for all student resources. A new Dean of the ECTL position will be created.

The new ECTL will include the existing programs currently in place within Academic Success and will focus on student retention and persistence to graduation, and create a stronger partnership between the center, the faculty, and staff.

Other changes include redevelopment and expansion of our current advising system to a more retention-focused advising system; and providing resources for both faculty and students, creating a synergy that allows the teaching to inform the learning and the learning to inform the teaching.

Using a phased in approach, we will add a Vice Provost that will be focused on management of the Registrar’s Office, the Diane M. Halle Library, the Research Center, Internship & Career Services, the ECTL, and International Education; and an Associate Provost focused on leading curriculum development and innovation across all academic programs.

Prior to the pandemic, it was announced that we would add two additional levels to the parking structure. This project will continue to move forward and is slated for completion prior to the Fall 2021 semester start.

The Board of Trustees has approved the design and construction of a new School of Nursing & Health Sciences academic building focused on healthcare programs. The building will be located between the new academic center and the Ginger Judge Science Center with connection bridges between all three buildings.

We continue to move forward with plans for the comprehensive fundraising campaign with the campaign steering committee approving initial concepts and priorities.

We’ll be hosting our first-ever Scholarship Gala on June 17. All will be invited to support this virtual event. Proceeds from the Gala will benefit student scholarships, especially those that support diversity, equity, and inclusion.