James Birge became MCLA’s 12th president in 2016. He says it’s the right time to set his retirement date.
“We have a very stable executive leadership team," Birge told WAMC. "I think it's one of the strengths of the institution. It's a great team of people who care about our students, they care about how to collaborate with one another. We have more collaborations across academic divisions than we've ever had. I think that's a testament to the kind of leadership at the executive level that we have.”
Among his accomplishments, Birge points to steering the college through the COVID-19 pandemic, doubling its reserve fund to over $26 million, expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts throughout the institution, and gaining national recognition for the school.
“For the last 10 years, MCLA has been ranked as a top 10 national public liberal arts institution," he said. "We're ranked as a national top performer for social mobility.”
Despite those accomplishments, the college has faced declining enrollment over Birge’s tenure.
“We're looking a little bit better, but we're not where we need to be," the president admitted. "I am happy that we have a strategic plan that is focused on enrollment. We still have to- I think we have another 200 students we need to be at our optimal enrollment, and we're on our way toward that. The strategic plan guides us. We have a marketing strategy that we're implementing right now.”
Birge reflected on the controversy that surrounded a scuttled state plan for MCLA to convert housing on campus into emergency shelter for families in need. While the effort collapsed amid community outcry, Birge says he was disappointed that “unnecessary” drama clouded a mission-driven undertaking.
“When you look at the history of American higher education, we have a public purpose, which is to respond to the needs and demands of society," he told WAMC. "And I felt like we had at least the responsibility to review a proposal from our governor to see how we could support families in the region who were struggling with housing.”
Birge told WAMC that as the college’s board of trustees begins the search for his successor, he hopes accessibility will remain a top priority.
“My hope is that they will stay committed to the mission that we have of access, that students who have the intellectual capacity for high quality education but may not have the money to go to high profile institutions, that they'll keep this place accessible to those students so that they get a good education, they graduate without a lot of debt,” he said.
The next president of MCLA is expected to be chosen by May 2026.
When Birge departs, he’ll wrap up a more than 40-year career in academia.
“I plan on doing a lot of fly fishing and a lot of babysitting, Josh," Birge laughed. "We have- my wife, Lisa, and I- have two new granddaughters. They’re seven and nine months old, and I am smitten with them, and so I want to spend more time with them. Most of my career, I've been very busy- 42 years, 17 years as a college president- and I haven't always taken the time to spend with my family that I should have. And so now it's time for me to do that.”
Alongside Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, MCLA is one of just two public colleges in the westernmost region of Massachusetts.
