Page 10 - BusinessWest May 27, 2024

EDITORIAL >>
Another Bold Step for Bay Path
As you likely know, BusinessWest marked its 40th anni- versary this month.
Over that time, the magazine has told many intrigu- ing stories involving entrepreneurship, innovation, risk tak- ing, and pioneering.
And one of the best — one that involves all those qualities and more — has been the meteoric rise of the institution now known as Bay Path University.
Roughly 30 years ago, this was a small — make that tiny — two-year school with a reach that barely extended beyond its campus in Longmeadow. Over the course of the past three decades, under the leadership of two presidents, first Carol Leary and now Sandra Doran, the school has taken dramatic strides, adding four-year and then graduate programs, creat- ing new degree programs in areas ranging from cybersecu- rity to healthcare, launching the annual Women’s Leader- ship Conference, taking dramatic steps in online education, including creation of the American Women’s College, and much more.
The university now has a reach that is national and even global, and it has achieved this status by being what it encourages its students to be — innovative, bold, and entrepreneurial.
The latest example of all these traits coming together in a powerful way is the school’s recently announced acquisition of Cambridge College (see story on page 26). This bold move speaks not only to Bay Path’s intention to continue its efforts to grow enrollment and expand its reach, but to the trends and challenges in higher education today as well.
Indeed, due to a series of factors, especially heightened competition for enrollment and the rising costs of doing busi- ness, many schools have found it difficult to continue their missions. Many, in fact, have looked to merge or partner with other schools.
OPINION >>
Meanwhile, Bay Path was developing a growth strategy, one that called for everything from new graduate programs to a broadening of its healthcare offerings; from geographic expansion to profound growth in enrollment among the Hispanic population — the fastest-growing population in the region.
As Doran told BusinessWest, there were several options for achieving these various goals, and one alternative was
to nibble at the corners, as she put it. Another was to take a bold step, which was far more likely given the school’s recent track record.
Several acquisition options were considered in several dif- ferent parts of the country, before Bay Path’s leadership even- tually set its sights on Cambridge College, the Boston-based institution created a half-century ago.
This acquisition will essentially double Bay Path’s enroll- ment and take the institution (and probably the Bay Path name itself, although the specifics still must be worked out) to different markets, including Boston and Puerto Rico, where Cambridge has a campus in San Juan that provides graduate programs in business and technology as well as education and counseling to working professionals.
It will also allow the school to add another 30 graduate programs to its existing portfolio and better serve the grow- ing Hispanic population — Cambridge is ranked among the best colleges and universities for Latinos.
Full integration of Cambridge College into Bay Path will take 18 to 24 months, and it will be interesting to see what the combined schools will look like then.
But we expect that this will be another success story for an institution that has written several of them over the past 30 years. BW
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Fostering a Culture of Respect
BY JOHN HENDERSON
Let’s face it: we are living and working in a socially and politically divisive world that can have a negative impact on a company’s culture. So what can an organization do
about this in order to create and sustain a culture of respect in their workplace?
It really comes down to courtesy — being polite and aware of other’s concerns and feelings, and practicing the good manners of saying “hello,” asking “how are you?” and actually waiting for the person to respond rather than continuing to walk by them.
We foster a culture of respect by appreciating everyone for their uniqueness and intrinsic worth as a person — what they bring to the team and organization. We realize that we must create a place where people can be their authentic self at work. We show that we value and support others. And the most important thing is that we accept people for who they are and what they do, but we don’t necessarily need to agree with their opinions or values.
The last one is where many organizations fall short by allowing people’s differences to get in the way of having a productive and positive environment where people feel val- ued and feel that they belong.
As in real estate, where the most important things are
location, location, and location, the things that are most important to creating a respectful workplace are communica- tion, communication, and communication. We must lead by example and communicate openly and constructively.
We must also have embedded in our culture the willing- ness to effectively address disrespectful behavior, not turn and walk away from it. When communicating, make sure it is clear, specific, and understood by the recipient by asking them to repeat back what they heard and what you agree upon. Most importantly, remember that our non-verbal com- munication is 70% of what is conveyed.
To foster a culture of respect does not have to be a difficult undertaking. Ensuring that the values and norms of the orga- nization are understood by all is the first step, but living them is the next step that needs to be part of everyday life in your organization. BW
John Henderson is director of Learning and Development at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org
10 MAY 27, 2024
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