Matthew Kent ’15, Staff Writer
Rewind about 5 years. Back then, many people hadn’t heard of an institution by the name of Merrimack College. A small liberal arts school located in upstate Massachusetts, Merrimack didn’t have much in particular to make it stand out from the other 25 plus colleges and universities in the Greater Boston area.
Fast forward to present day, and you’ll notice Merrimack’s no name reputation is no longer the case. A man by the name of Christopher Hopey stepped in as president of the College in July of 2010 and has drastically turned things around. The newly appointed president wasted no time as he quickly started making changes around the campus in an effort to improve Merrimack and make it a household name for the small Augustinian school.
Hopey increased recruitment staff and put a focus on gaining new students in an effort to increase undergraduate enrollment and grow Merrimack as whole. Since Hopey’s arrival in 2010, full time enrollment is up 42%. The school now boasts a population of around 2900 students, just shy of President Hopey’s goal of 3000.
With new students flowing in and the undergraduate population rapidly growing, another drastic change to the campus was made—new residence halls. The new residence halls were built in the past year currently house 344 students, which gives Merrimack an even bigger appeal. Despite the recent addition to campus, President Hopey plans for more housing and academic facilities in the near future to continue growing the Merrimack.
Since taking over the school in 2010, President Hopey has done nothing short of great things to help improve Merrimack. He has helped make Merrimack become a notable school in the Greater Boston area. Since Hopey’s improvements on campus since his arrival in 2010, Merrimack has gained a great reputation and becoming more of a school that employers recognize. With how far Hopey has come so far and the future improvements he wants to make, it will be interesting to see what else he has up his sleeve to make Merrimack the best it can be.
