Husson dreams big under Beardsley President has led college for 20 years

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BANGOR – When William H. Beardsley became president of Husson College in 1987, he ordered an odd and expensive change to the campus, one that raised a few eyebrows.

“The first thing he did was pave all the roads,” Julie Green, spokeswoman and 27-year employee at Husson College, said in a recent interview. It was a symbolic move, intended to send a message of optimism to the staff, she said. And it was the first of many significant changes.

The school, known locally as “Husson High” in the 1980s, has undergone such a transformation since then that it might not be a stretch to call it “Husson University” today. And much of that change has been credited to Beardsley, a zealous entrepreneur who celebrated his 20th year as college president this month.

When Beardsley first arrived, Husson offered associate and bachelor of science degrees in business and nursing. The school was having difficulty keeping up enrollment, and over its head loomed a debt of $115 million. Husson hired Beardsley as its CEO in December 1986, hoping that his expertise in higher education and finance throughout New England and Alaska would alleviate some of its problems. Seven months later, Beardsley became president, and, to the surprise of staff, he began spending, adding new buildings and programs almost immediately.

“The campus and the community thought he was crazy,” Green said. But Beardsley had a strategy.

“Filling it [Husson] to capacity dramatically improved our finances,” Beardsley said in a recent interview in his office. New programs boosted enrollment, and by refinancing debt, aggressive fundraising, and keeping staff and campus expenses to a minimum, Husson balanced its budget, Beardsley said.

The campus paid for building projects as it could afford them, adding the Dyke Center for Family Business, the Peirce Webber Campus Center and the Robert O’Donnell Commons, Beardsley said. Faculty and staff became used to working within a tight budget, and when one staff member griped about Beardsley’s spacious wood-paneled office, he moved into a small cinderblock room in the basement of a freshman dormitory, across the hall from the laundry room.

Paul Husson, 67, a senior development officer at the college and son of the late founder, Chesley H. Husson, said his father’s vision of a buzzing, intellectual campus is certainly alive today. Chesley Husson turned what was Shaw School of Business, a proprietary school, into a nonprofit, accredited college after he acquired it in 1926, Paul Husson said.

Husson’s success at any given time usually can be attributed to its leadership, Paul Husson said.

“I think he [Beardsley] is quite visionary. He’s very energetic, a very hardworking guy. It’s hard to keep up with him,” Husson said, laughing. “He’s the right person at the right time.”

The school’s offerings now include 27 undergraduate degrees, eight master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. Its presence in Bangor, Portland and Caribou has expanded to South Portland, Presque Isle, Calais, Eastport and Vassalboro.

The acquisition of the New England School of Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Husson, in 1997 also has boosted enrollment. Bangor Theological Seminary moved onto the Husson campus last year but remains entirely independent.

Husson now has a firm standing in Washington County, where it plans to use the Unobskey College in Calais as a satellite campus. Husson also plans to begin running the Eastport Boat School later this year.

Just this month, the State Board of Education authorized Husson to establish a law school, which now awaits approval from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. And last month, the board approved a doctor of pharmacy program at Husson. The college plans to begin its three-year undergraduate pharmacy program this fall and then introduce the three-year graduate pharmacy program in 2009.

To those looking on, Husson’s growth might seem rapid, Beardsley said.

“There’s a perception that we’re going awfully fast. Some people think Husson lunges at everything,” Beardsley said. However, the board, faculty and staff have chosen its programs carefully, consulting heavily with state government, specifically the Department of Labor, to determine which programs are needed in Maine, Beardsley said.

“We are not just in Maine, we are of Maine,” he said. “We ask how we can position ourselves for what Maine will look like down the road.”

Beardsley describes Husson’s growth as having been “vertical, then horizontal.” It first created a diverse stack of undergraduate options, adding programs such as education, criminal justice and psychology, then spread laterally to introduce master’s and doctoral degrees, he said.

Husson has learned that in order for a new program to be successful, it must be welcomed by students. Beardsley gives as an example the science teacher education program it introduced in the late 1990s, when the state forecast a shortage of high school science teachers.

“Students who were interested in science didn’t want to become teachers. They wanted to be doctors, scientists, chemical engineers,” Beardsley said. As a result, the science education program has seen little growth, Beardsley said. It was an important lesson for the school, he said.

Enrollment has more than doubled in the past 20 years, growing from 1,081 students in the fall of 1986 to 2,356 students last fall. Of those 2,356 students, 2,074 were from Maine, 239 were from other states, and 43 students were international. After the Sept. 11 attacks, Husson saw a sharp decrease in the number of international applicants but hopes that group will become a larger presence, Green said.

Husson’s staff has doubled in the last 20 years, from 135 employees in 1986 to 272 employees in 2006. Many staff members have multiple titles, Green said. The 42-member faculty has grown to 65 members.

Husson’s athletic department became a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III in 1998. Sports have become a significant attraction for prospective students and have put the school in the news, Beardsley said. The John Winkin Athletic Complex, with a football, baseball and field hockey field, was unveiled in 2003.

One reason Husson has been a popular choice for students seeking a private, liberal arts education in Maine is that tuition costs are relatively low. In the past 20 years, full-time annual tuition has increased from $5,500 in 1986 to $11,970 in 2007. Annual tuition increases have remained lower than the rate of inflation, Beardsley said.

The college has a liberal admissions policy, meaning it accepts most students who apply, but criteria have grown more specific for each program. Husson is committed to finding “diamonds in the rough” who have great potential to succeed as they mature, Beardsley said.

About 51 percent of students graduate in six years. Nearly 40 percent of the students who entered last fall were the first in their family to go to college, according to Green.