2015 Business Leaders of the Year: Gail Carberry, Quinsigamond Community College

PHOTO/MATT VOLPINI NONPROFIT Gail Carberry, Quinsigamond Community College

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Gail Carberry knows the kind of difference the right college can make. It was at Springfield Technical Community College that "I found out I was smart," she said. But Quinsigamond Community College's president is also thoughtful, direct, driven, joyful, and quick to deflect credit to her team.

For a person who struggled with reading and other study skills because of undiagnosed dyslexia, that was life-changing to learn.

In the decades since those community-college business classes, Carberry has gotten the better of dyslexia — unless she's tired. At a certain point of exhaustion, her brain gives out and she might have to stop and ask herself which way the loop goes in a "b" or a "d," she said, breaking into her characteristic bright laugh.

Not only is she smart, Quinsigamond Community College's president is thoughtful, direct, driven, joyful, and quick to deflect credit to her team. And she's one to get things done. The evidence shows in enrollment figures that are some 50 percent higher than when she took the job in 2006. It shows in new buildings and programs at the flagship campus in Worcester; in QCC's numerous close partnerships with local schools and organizations; and in bold new forays beyond West Boylston Street.

"My team thinks outside the box," she said. “I'm very blessed.”

Thus, for example, Southbridge now has a QCC campus on old American Optical property. Marlborough has a satellite center at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School.

And since last September in downtown Worcester, across from City Hall in the former Telegram & Gazette building, QCC is preparing students for professions in a range of health fields. They'll earn certificates or associate's degrees, and go on perhaps to good hospital jobs needing to be filled close by, or to other schools of higher learning to advance their skills and credentials.

It's that sort of endeavor that underscores the “Community” in the college's name for area residents and leaders. Carberry said she's constantly aware of the school's community mission; it's one reason she absolutely loves what she does.

“I am happy that she is joining us downtown,” said Charles F. Monahan Jr., president of MCPHS University.

“I know what a big commitment and how hard it is to bring higher education to a downtown campus. Gail has accomplished this. Her project was a huge organizational challenge, and it will add to a vibrant downtown renewal and will support health care degrees for our city and our region,” he said.

Monahan noted that a QCC student could, for instance, finish an associate's degree in nursing and move right into the family nurse practitioner program at MCPHS. Also, “Some of our students who needed prerequisites took courses at QCC,” he said.

Carberry has a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she specialized in organizational development, strategic planning and staff development. A Worcester native, she also holds a bachelor's degree from Worcester State, and a certificate in small business management from Springfield Technical.

Her business acumen comes in handy at the president's desk.

“We operate in an entrepreneurial way, as any business must,” she said. When the current academic year began, state aid contributed only about $17 million out of a $64 million operating budget.

And Carberry appreciates QCC's role as part of the region's economic engine. A community college operates locally, she often reminds people. Students come from the Worcester area and tend to stay here, so it's important to all for QCC to be energetic, relevant and excellent.

The move downtown

“Gail made it a priority to contribute substantially to what she calls the renaissance of downtown Worcester,” said Craig L. Blais, president and CEO of the Worcester Business Development Corp., which bought the T&G building in 2011.

She's “very passionate about providing students access to an affordable education,” he said, adding: “She often leads with her heart, which is not a bad quality.”

Practicalities such as bus routes and sandwich shops helped attract QCC to downtown. Because many in its service area don't have cars or a lot of money, the college needs to be where it's easy to reach. Meanwhile, the students in health care, continuing education, and other disciplines who attend classes downtown become part of a wider circle.

“Enhancing economic vitality was a key part of the decision,” Carberry said.

The college has also dramatically increased its online enrollment, from about 300 in 2006, to well over 30,000 today. The important thing is connecting people with the educational opportunity that works for them. That gets the gears turning, and that's what QCC, and Gail Garberry, are very good at.

Lifted by ex-students' successes

Carberry cherishes the stories of students QCC has served in its 52 years. From high school students in danger of dropping out to college-educated professionals looking to better themselves, QCC very likely has a course, a counselor, a program and a plan ready to meet the need. Thousands of local people have found themselves at the QCC crossroads at some point, and benefited.

In Carberry's case, as it is for many, a sound start is the key. After she found her way at Springfield Technical, and began trusting in her abilities, “I became more aggressive and assertive with my own leadership,” she said. “I came 'home' to Worcester when I felt I had the capacity to lead, and I never looked back — except with satisfaction that I had chosen the right profession.”

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Gail Carberry, President, Quinsigamond Community College