Closing thoughts: An interview with Dr. Gail Carberry of Quinsigamond Community College
Building near the brainpower
Dr. Gail Carberry, the new president of Quinsigamond Community College, has deep Worcester roots. She was born here, put herself through college here, and taught here before moving to Springfield. She spent 29 years at Springfield Technical Community College, most recently as vice president for institutional advancement. During her time there, the school broke out of the "trade school" mode and into a proactive partner role with the Springfield business community. Carberry sees a similar potential for QCC, which is actively looking to expand its base of business partners. It’s also looking for additional classroom space in the community, to better serve its student base.
Carberry: I see five key areas - manufacturing, the life sciences, health and nursing, finance careers, and entrepreneurship. ... [which is] very high on my radar screen. I’ve begun some dialogue with both the public school systems and with some post-secondary partners. Also with the MLK Business Empowerment Center around some roles that Quinsigamond might be able to play, to move the entrepreneurship education pathway forward.
WBJ: Springfield Technical Community College offers basic courses on how to run a business. These can help students who are great craftsmen but lousy businesspeople. Do you see the need for more of this type of curriculum?
Carberry: We need to make sure that every small business that gets up and running in our community has the potential to succeed. At Quinsigamond we have many career programs that lend themselves to business startups: restaurant management, web design, graphic design, a range of programs that would lend themselves to business in a service economy. Basically, two out of five businesses fail in their critical startup years. We need to have more businesses succeed.
[As our population ages], many entrepreneurs will be retiring over the next few years. They’ll either be selling their businesses or passing them on to a new generation. Those who are passing them on to a new generation had the benefit of lifetime entrepreneurial employment. For those who are going to buy into the business, we need a new training ground.
| The Carberry File: Born: Worcester, October 25, 1948 |
Education: Certificate in Small Business Management at STCC; BS in Education at WSC; M. Ed. in Higher Education Strategic Planning/Faculty and Staff Development at UMass-Amherst; Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Development and Community College Leadership at UMass-Amherst.
Started career: Worcester Public Schools, taught K-3; previously, working her way through Worcester State College by waiting tables at Salem Cross Inn
Biggest career achievement so far: Raising $125 million for STCC over the course of her career.
Biggest current challenge: Returning to Worcester, and determining how to apply her Springfield experience.
Just for fun: Family activities; avocation as guitarist/songwriter focusing on education and community issues in the satirical mode.
Carberry: Exactly. They need to understand how to build a business plan. It isn’t just serendipity. You don’t just have a product or skill that you bring to the outside world. You have to plan for it, finance it, and ensure that it succeeds from a business perspective. We’re going to begin to build those courses here. ...
WBJ: Do you see students limiting their career choices to the jobs that are more visible to them?
Carberry: Many students come to us believing that they want to be nurses. Most don’t realize that the fields of radiology, respiratory care and occupational therapy and some of the other helping professions are equally viable and open to them.
So career exploration is key. We have a health career center here that does nothing except career advising of students when they come in. Many do not know what’s out there. They have limited scope in terms of what they think are careers.
WBJ: Are we in a race with other community colleges in other regions of the country to develop a skilled workforce?Carberry: There are 1,200 community colleges in the country and every one of them are positioning now to be proactive in the economic development arena. [Community colleges] used to be very reactive. When a plant would close, community colleges were there to help people rebuild their lives, in terms of new careers. We’re now much more engaged in a proactive stance in the economic equation. I think Springfield is a prime example of that and Quinsigamond can become even more proactive in its role in the economic development-workforce development arena.
QCC needs to be part of the local life sciences workforce equation as well. There is definitely a significant competition going on among states and regions for folks who are skilled in the education positioning of people. Positioning of businesses near education centers is now the way that business [locates]. They used to position near sources of waterpower; they now position near sources of brainpower.
This interview was conducted and edited for length by WBJ Editor Christina P. O’Neill.
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