Worcester State Magazine – Spring 2023

During her visit to Worcester State last spring, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten described the successful Early College Worcester program as a beacon for the rest of the nation. Now, that beacon is about to get brighter. A new $1 million grant to Worcester State University will allow the early college programming to […]

Worcester State University celebrated the achievements, legacies, and contributions of outstanding former student-athletes during the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony Sept. 23, 2022. The Homecoming Weekend ceremony honored a diverse class of seven former student athletes and the entire 1971-72 men’s ice hockey team. The 16-member Athletics Hall of Fame committee had the significant […]

Researchers find educators struggle with academic discipline decisions. Every day in schools across the United States, principals and vice principals issue out-of-school suspensions to middle and high school students for a variety of offenses, some as serious as having a weapon at school, and others as minor as not following directions. Students missed out on […]

This past fall, alumnus Seth A. Pitts ‘10 drew huge applause from students, faculty and staff after delivering an uplifting and encouraging Convocation keynote address full of wisdom from his own experiences as a young man finding his way through college. (You can read his full speech at bit.ly/sethpitts.) After college, Pitts went on to […]

As biotech industry grows in Massachusetts, Worcester State’s biotechnology program recognized as a best value in New England and a Top 10 best biotechnology degree in the U.S. Goggles, gloves, and aprons on. Grab a 15 mL tube with the green cap. Don’t forget to label everything. The first few minutes of Associate Professor Roger […]

Tissue culture scientist Samantha Durand, MS ’22 creates a beating cardiac organoid in a win-win for her master’s degree and her professional work For her master’s thesis in biotechnology, Samantha Durand proposed a scientifically ambitious and professionally strategic idea. She would attempt to create beating cardiac organoids from human-induced pluripotent stem cells—and the experiment would […]

Early-career scientist Nic Esper ’20 found opportunity and invaluable real-world training in Worcester’s thriving biotechnology ecosystem while he was still an undergrad As a junior biotechnology major, Nicolas Esper ’20 knew he needed to graduate with industry experience. Esper connected with the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI), a Worcester-based incubator for biomedical startups that has supported […]

Dear Alumni and Friends, The Worcester State University community recently marked the passing of my predecessor, Worcester State’s first and only female president, Janelle Ashley, Ph.D., who served from 2002 to 2011. As we reflect on her many important contributions to the university, I am reminded that not so long ago women faced significant barriers […]