MCPHS appoints new president

Photo | Courtesy of MCPHS University Richard Lessard, incoming president of MCPHS University

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After an eight-month search for a replacement to retired President Charles Monahan, MCPHS University announced on Wednesday it has promoted Richard Lessard to the position permanently, after he has served as interim president since Monahan left in January.

“Rick has a clear vision of the course that the university needs to take to maintain its leadership position. Following a national search by Battalia Winston, he emerged as the best possible choice, not only for the work he did to achieve unprecedented success for MCPHS over the last two decades, but also because of his passion for health care and higher education and his foresight and clarity as to how we will succeed in the future," said MCPHS Board Chair Richard Griffin, in the announcement.

MCPHS, which has a main campus in Boston, expanded significantly in Worcester during Monahan's tenure, with 1,500 students and academic programs including pharmacy, nursing, acupuncture and optometry. The college has renovated downtown buildings and converted the former Crowne Plaza hotel into a dormitory.

Before taking on the interim president role, Lessard was the school's executive vice president, CFO and COO. He joined MCPHS in 1998 and help grow the school from its focus on pharmacy at its one Boston building to an institution with more than 100 healthcare degrees and certificate programs in Boston, Worcester and Manchester, N.H., according to MCPHS.

"Our rich history, our global impact, our educational model based on real-world experience and collaborative education, and our exceptional value are all tremendous strengths that will serve as the foundation for our future successes," Lessard said in the press release.

Lessard is the latest college president in Central Massachusetts during a few years with significant turnover in the top role at higher educational institutions.

The College of the Holy Cross on Sept. 22 announced its president, Rev. Philip Boroughs, would step down from his role at the end of the academic year, ending his nine-year run leading the Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester. Susan West Engelkemeyer, president of Nichols College in Dudley, announced on Sept. 9 she is retiring at the end of the school year after leading Nichols for a decade. Clark University President David Angel retired this past June and has been succeed by David Fithian. The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton announced a new leader in April 2019, as Alastair Cribb took over as dean following former dean Deborah Kochevar becoming provost of Tufts University.

MCPHS opened in Worcester in 2000 when it was known as the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, having outgrown its Boston campus and having no room to grow in the city's dense Longwood neighborhood.

"I will be unwavering in my efforts to implement our strategic plan and guide MCPHS into its third century as a global leader in healthcare education," Lessard said.