"Top Growth," Fastest-growing companies and nonprofits: WPI

September 30, 2013 

WPI STEM Strategy, Economy Create ‘Perfect Storm’ 

Taryn Plumb
Special to the Worcester Business Journal

Worcester Polytechnic Institute's growth trajectory began with a strategic plan set out under past president Edward A. Parrish — and it was achieved much more quickly than expected.
"We've reached a threshold that we didn't anticipate reaching until 2015," said Kristin Tichenor, senior vice president at WPI.
The college has experienced robust gains across campus — from enrollment to revenues, to programs, to employees.
Notably, the school has seen a high level of enrollment growth. Since 2005, undergraduate enrollment increased about 41 percent, Tichenor said, from 2,800 to 3,900. Meanwhile, graduate-degree seeking enrollment almost doubled between 2008 and 2012, from 988 to more than 1,700.
As a result, WPI has experienced impressive revenue gains: From 2010 to 2012, revenue climbed about 11 percent, from $164 million to $182.2 million. In the same period, the payroll jumped from 896 to 935 employees.
A blend of factors has contributed to the school's success. Most notably, Tichenor said, has been the economy.
The economic downturn was a perfect storm for WPI," she said.
The younger generations weathering the economy's seemingly endless ups and downs have become particularly mindful of job prospects and the increasingly competitive marketplace, she noted. As a result, many look to WPI, which has consistently placed well in post-graduation compensation and professional growth opportunities.
For instance, in May, it placed 15th out of more than 1,500 in PayScale's college education return-on-investment rankings. That review showed that a student graduating with a bachelor's degree from WPI should expect cumulative earnings of more than $1.3 million over 30 years, minus college costs.
The school was also named one of the nation's "best and most interesting" colleges in the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges.
"They want to make sure their education is going to translate into strong professional opportunities," Tichenor said. Which appears to be a hallmark of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers; students "stand a chance" of achieving gainful employment within them, she said. 

Spurred By STEM Spike
But WPI's success is also attributable to the overall spike in interest in STEM fields, due largely to tremendous outreach programs launched over the last decade. Similarly, today's students are exposed to higher-level math and science programs, she said, and thus gain a higher level of proficiency that makes STEM more attractive and attainable.
WPI has done its share of STEM outreach. For instance, in March 2012, it opened a STEM education center to address what officials have described as a "critical shortage" of educators in the fields.
The school has also striven to pique the interest of women and under-represented minorities. Tichenor was proud to report that such efforts have paid off: In 2008, women made up 26 percent of the undergraduate population; that grew to 32 percent in 2012. Under-represented minorities increased from 9 percent of the school population to 12 percent.
Overall, WPI also has a distinct advantage in its unique offerings. It introduced the country's first robotics engineering degree, and has seen exponential growth in many programs that were either nonexistent or just beginning 10 years ago, such as gaming, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, architectural engineering and aerospace engineering.
As for cultivating such programs, Tichenor credited faculty.
"They're the ones that identify the need," she said, noting that they keep in contact with local companies and strive to pinpoint future demands.
The school has consistently been supported in its innovation, having recently received a five-year, $1.94-million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research therapies to heal cardiac muscle damage; a five-year, $3-million NIH grant to help develop a minimally invasive, robotic surgical approach to treating brain tumors; and $125,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop personal robot assistants for the elderly.
Going forward, though, the overall plan is to grow, but at a slower pace. Reflecting that, a leadership change is in the works. In May, longtime president Dennis Berkey announced his retirement after nine years, saying he felt he had accomplished what he had set out to do. Longtime trustee Philip Ryan is serving as interim president while the college searches for its next leader. It hopes to find one by next April.
"It's an institution that has a lot of agility," Tichenor said. WPI "prides itself on collaboration."

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