Assumption restructures with 'schools'

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

Assumption College is starting a nursing program this fall, is planning a physician assistant graduate program, and has announced the name of its new business school.
These are all part of the restructuring of Assumption, which is establishing five schools of study – the college of liberal arts and sciences, and the school of nursing, school of health professions, school of business, and school of graduate and professional studies. The college is also seeking university status, the president, Francesco Cesareo, reported.
The hope is to address current needs and increase funding and enrollment while maintaining Assumption’s mission as a Catholic liberal arts institution.
University status would better reflect what Assumption has already become, the president said. A public hearing about that status is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. July 25 in the McCormack Building of the Department of Higher Education, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston.
But no matter what the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education decides about Assumption’s status, restructuring will begin this fall, President Cesareo said. He said the college has hired a dean for each of the five schools and a director of cybersecurity for that major in the college of liberal arts and sciences.
Nursing school students start this fall by taking required courses from the college of liberal arts and sciences in preparation for more specialized courses in the school of nursing, from which they will get a bachelor of science in nursing.
Students will also have the opportunity to pursue a bachelor’s in health sciences from the school of health professions. They can add a concentration to this major as they prepare for careers and/or graduate or professional programs, including medical school. The five concentrations to be offered are: pre-clinical health professions, pre-physical therapy, pre-occupational therapy, communication sciences and disorders, and patient advocacy.
The school of health professions is also to offer students the opportunity to pursue a master of science in physician assistant studies, beginning in the spring of 2021.    
Ground was broken in May for a 41,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art health sciences building for the nursing and health professions schools, and others will also use it. Not yet named, it is being erected next to Assumption’s library and is targeted to open in the fall of 2020.
The business and graduate and professional studies programs already exist, but this fall will start operating within their own new schools.

GRENON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

 The business school, to be housed in the Tsotsis Family Academic Center, has been named the Grenon School of Business for David Grenon, a 1957 Assumption Prep graduate. A press release from the college said this recognizes his dedication to its mission, his successful career, and Assumption’s emphasis on ethics in the business program.
The Grenon family made a seven-figure gift, the second largest made to the current capital campaign, supporting the business school, the press release said. This was the first gift Assumption received for one of its five new schools.
Mr. Grenon and his wife, Rosalie, have long supported the former Assumption Prep and the college, the press release said. After earning an economics degree from Villanova University, Mr. Grenon returned to Worcester and founded and served as president of The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc. (now Marsh & McLennan Agency). He has also served as a board chair, trustee or director for several organizations and nonprofits.

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

The school of graduate and professional studies, to be housed in Kennedy Memorial Hall, will centralize graduate programs, President Cesareo said. Grouped with graduate programs in the new school will be professional studies, which Assumption has been offering for years to learners beyond college age who want to begin or complete a degree. They will do this online in seven-week semesters offered year-round, the president said.
President Cesareo said these four new schools will be like spokes emanating from the hub of the wheel – the college of liberal arts and sciences – which will be housed in Founders Hall and provide all students with the same core curriculum. This structure resembles a university with more than one college, he said.
Over the years Assumption has evolved, integrating liberal arts into skill-based programs that prepare students for particular professions, he said.
Graduates can serve in their professions differently by employing their liberal arts education, which provides a broader understanding of the world and the human person, and a moral framework, the president said.
This can help them gain employment.
President Cesareo said cybersecurity jobs are projected to be in the millions, as businesses need to safeguard against hacking. But he was skeptical that such a technological field would fit with Assumption’s mission – until an alumnus helping direct the FBI cyber division told him that he hires liberal arts graduates. More important than their skills is their ability to ask the right questions, analyze and communicate, gained through a liberal arts education, the alumnus said. With this information, Assumption added the cybersecurity major.
The need for health care providers will continue to grow, President Cesareo said. And Assumption can connect them with its mission. The college offers Catholic moral teachings, and liberal arts that provide a breadth of knowledge, which will help such students be empathetic, as they’re treating not just illnesses, but persons.    
In looking at its options, Assumption had a study done of other colleges that became universities, President Cesareo said. The study indicated that such a move could increase enrollment and funding. Added enrollment could come from international students for whom the word “college” is equated with high school. And donors could target their gifts to their fields of interest, he said.
If granted the status, Assumption will need to change its name to Assumption University, he said.