Clark University President's Pages
About John Bassett
John Bassett became Clark University's eighth president in July 2000. Prior to that, he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) from 1993 to 2000. He is a scholar and teacher of American literature with ten books, including ³Sherwood Anderson: An American Career² (Susquehanna University Press 2005), and over thirty articles to his credit. At Clark, Bassett has significantly upgraded information technology and alumni programs, improved overall student quality, completed a campus master plan, recruited 49 new faculty and successfully closed a $100 million capital campaign at $106 million. He has more clearly focused academic, research, and co-curricular programs tied to Clark's signatures: experience diverse cultures, learn through inquiry, and make a difference. He has completed several major facility-improvement projects. Under his leadership, Clark built a new science facility, the Lasry Center for Bioscience, and fully renovated the 32,000 square-foot biophysics building, the second oldest building on campus. The Traina Center for the Arts, the result of a $7 million renovation and expansion project, opened in October 2002 and the reconfigured athletic fields and Dolan Field House were available in May 2003. The University¹s newest residence hall, Blackstone Hall, is slated for completion this summer and will open for students for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Clark's commitment to its neighborhood and the city of Worcester has remained an important focus for Bassett. In addition to the University's work through the $40 million Main South and University Park Partnership, Clark has become a key participant in a citywide education reform effort that earned an $8 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation. Clark is also part of a $35 million initiative in the Kilby-Gardner area that is resulting in 80 new housing units, a new Boys and Girls Club, and a Clark athletic field. The University Park Campus School (UPCS) continues to be a uniquely successful project in education reform in a low-income urban area. It was the only New England school listed by Newsweek in 2005 among the 100 best American public high schools and the only urban high school in Massachusetts designated as "high-performing." In 2004 Clark received the first Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Award in Massachusetts for the most outstanding college-community partnership in the Commonwealth. This year, through a generous gift to the University, Clark is establishing the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise to address major social issues in America and abroad.
Bassett joined Clark on the heels of many successes at CWRU. Among them, he led efforts to establish centers for science education and research, child development, the humanities, Judaic studies, policy studies, and science and mathematics education. He completed a $30 million rebuilding of the science complex. He also developed the College Scholars Program for undergraduates and The Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science (www.onlineethics.org/), funded by the National Science Foundation.
President Bassett serves in Worcester on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Choose Worcester, and Common Pathways, and on the Executive Committee of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. He is a corporator of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and chairs the Leadership Advisory Council of Edward Street Child Services. He is on the Executive Committees of Massachusetts Campus Compact and the steering committee of the Mass Insight Education¹s Great Schools Campaign. He served on the transition team of Governor Deval Patrick.
Nationally, Bassett serves on the Board of NAICU (National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities) and chairs its Accountability Committee. He serves on a commission of ACE (American Council on Education) and is on the board of Phi Beta Kappa Fellows. Currently he is serving on a commission of CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation) reviewing accreditation practices in higher education.
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