College weaves its way into a wider community

BRIDGEWATER -- At a time when census figures paint a grim picture of the state's future, with families, retirees, and college graduates leaving for jobs and lower housing costs elsewhere, Bridgewater State College is in the midst of a major expansion of both its physical campus and its sphere of influence, producing a rare commodity: graduates who stick around.

``What we know is the overwhelming majority, 80 to 85 percent who graduate from here stay here," said college president Dana Mohler-Faria . ``We're doing a lot of the training for the future of the Commonwealth."

Toward that end, the college is in the midst of a building boom: new dormitories, a renovated library, and a new science center. But the college is also weaving new ties to businesses, town governments, and investing its resources to help plan the economic future of the region.

Mohler-Faria last year established a department of external affairs, with the sole mission of building bridges to the community.

``It's always been a part of our mission," he said. ``But I realized we could probably do a better job. . . . I think as a public entity we have not only the obligation to educate students, but to use our resources to enhance the quality of life in the region."

Stephen Smith , executive director of the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District, said that the college has always been an asset to the community, but that the recent push to engage with the area will have a greater effect.

``It's always a helpful and constructive thing when the college wants to get involved, because there are lots of very talented people involved," Smith said. ``Getting them out in the community -- there's no downside."

While Boston lost 30,107 residents in the first half of the decade, according to census estimates, the state on the whole grew slightly. This region is considered one of the fastest-growing in the state, with population pushing to a little more than 1 million people between 2000 and 2005.

Some improvements at Bridgewater State have been specifically targeted toward that ballooning population. In 2003, the college established a master's degree program in social work, to help meet a growing demand for such services. A decade ago, it began offering a master's degree in public administration to train people for public service, whether in local government or in the nonprofit sector.

Mohler-Faria said the new science center, an $80 million project, is a direct response to the need for stronger math and science education in the region.

``If the region is going to grow, it has to grow with an educated workforce," said Ed Minnock, vice president of the new department of external affairs.

A college analysis of 2000 Census data found that residents in a large swath of southeastern Massachusetts fall below the state's average education levels. While a third of people 25 years and older statewide have earned a bachelor's degree, only 19.9 percent of adults in Bristol County and 27.8 percent of adults in Plymouth County have college degrees.

To help raise the level of education among area residents, the college, along with the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, has partnered with local community colleges to create degree-completion programs that will help students transfer from two-year programs to Bridgewater State, Minnock said. There are just under 10,000 students who attend Bridgewater's undergraduate and graduate programs.

Mohler-Faria said that about 85 percent of the student body comes from eastern Massachusetts, and that the vast majority of graduates stick around after they're done with school. Applications have continued to rise, with 7,500 applications this year. For residents, tuition and fees for the 2006-2007 school year, including room and board, run about $12,000 a year -- as opposed to more than $30,000 for tuition alone at Harvard University, Boston University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Smith said the college's role may continue to grow in coming years. In the 27 cities and towns represented in the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District, about 100,000 people commute to jobs outside their hometowns, while just 50,000 come in from outside of the region to work. As people move to the region, but continue to travel to jobs along Interstate 495, Route 128, or in Boston, the talent pool of workers continues to grow, Smith said, creating opportunities for businesses.

``We have a lot of catching up to do in this region," Smith said. ``There are a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs to do new things in this region, and that's where Bridgewater can certainly fill a role."

Part of that work is identifying the need, said Stanley Ross , an assistant business professor.

This summer, Ross will hold seminars to help local small business leaders understand topics like how to draft a business plan, establish a code of workplace ethics, recruit employees, and develop sexual har assment policies.

The college is working to establish an entrepreneurship center that would incubate new businesses, providing start-up funds, facilities, or know-how to help launch good ideas.

While its faculty have always engaged with the community based on their own interests or research, the connections are now more formal, from online bullying studies to helping communities find and get grants.

Herb Lemon , chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Bridgewater, said the town-college relationship has also grown closer over the past six months. Town-gown issues like rolling back the bar-closing hour and rowdy students living in neighborhoods close to the campus have always attracted attention, but the college and town are working together to resolve them.

Bridgewater State's Institute for Regional Development has partnered with the town to help guide economic development, and recently helped the town win a $1,000 grant for that purpose from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

``If you think about it, most colleges and universities are similarly structured where they have a focus on academic affairs, student affairs, administration, and finance -- those are the core entities," Minnock said. Bridgewater's approach, he said, is to look outward. ``Part of the mission of the college is to provide educational services, but also to provide social change."

Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.