SETTING THE STAGE

Michele Perkins named 15th president of New England College

The most popular buzzword in today’s culture is “change.” A dissatisfaction with the status quo and a call to bring new direction and energy to outdated methods has placed change on the national agenda. Change is exactly what Michele Perkins has brought to New England College since she was named interim president in February 2007 and president in October. As an internal candidate with nearly seven years experience at the College, Dr. Perkins brought an important perspective to the role of president – she had a clear sense of what change needed to take place in order to move the College closer to its long term goals.

Michele came to New England College in March 2001 as a consultant with expertise in enrollment management. Six months later she was working full time creating an enrollment strategy that would secure NEC’s position in recruiting new students. She played a key role in launching the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at NEC and is the architect of a multi-year plan to grow enrollment more efficiently at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Change became the first order of business for Michele as the College’s new president. She immediately expanded her senior team, created the President’s Council, and revitalized the Enrollment Management Group with new leadership. She incorporated the work of the Strategic Planning Group into the newly formed President’s Council and created a position for a vice president of enrollment.

One of the first staff appointments Dr. Perkins made was to name Don Melander as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Don was the perfect and obvious choice,” noted Michele. “He has close to forty years of experience as a faculty member and is a valuable resource for academic policy and institutional history. Don has taken on his new role with great enthusiasm and support from the College’s faculty.”

With direction from the president, faculty and administrators at the College are currently engaged in restructuring the undergraduate curriculum. Instead of taking five courses each semester, students will now take four courses that earn four credits each. “This change will allow the College greater flexibility in doing what it does best,” Michele noted. “Our strengths are in teaching and providing our students with opportunities for experiential learning and civic engagement. This is really what the educational experience at New England College is all about. Everyone learns better by doing - it is the best preparation our students can get to pursue their career goals and it is why our students come here. Going to the four course, four credit system will provide more opportunities for our students to engage with their professors in the classroom and participate in the experiential learning process. Over the next year we plan to incorporate the experiential learning component into each of our undergraduate programs.”

Confident in the organizational structure of the College and its ability to attract and retain qualified students, Michele has turned her attention to NEC’s financial resources. “Since 2002-03 we have seen a dramatic financial turnaround at the College,” she said. “We have been able to give annual increases to our faculty and have realized operating surpluses each year including nearly a $2 million increase in net assets in FY 07. With the enrollment, organizational, and business functions in place, we can now address the need to improve our financial resources. This sets the stage for New England College to achieve and ensure a robust fundraising program. We now have a very powerful case to bring to potential donors.”

Michele’s undergraduate degree is from Northwestern University and she received a Master of Arts from Emerson College. She has taught at both Emerson College and Curry College in Massachusetts. Michele is a graduate of the executive doctorate in higher education management program at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, earning her Ed.D. in 2007. Presiding over NEC’s Commencement ceremony in May 2007, Michele was unable to attend her own graduation from UPENN. The director of the program, along with classmates from the University, came to Henniker this summer for a special hooding ceremony in her honor.

Michele’s son, Caldwell, attends sixth grade in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, and husband, James, is an investor and technology entrepreneur. The family looks forward to moving to Henniker during the summer of 2008.