Fitchburg State University will launch the 2024-25 academic year with new academic programs, new institutional initiatives and a new leader.
Dr. Donna Hodge, the university’s 12th president and the first woman to hold the post, will welcome students, faculty, staff, and the community at large with a State of the University address at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4 on the main quadrangle.
“I am thrilled to welcome students, faculty, staff and the wider community to this remarkable campus for the coming year,” said Hodge, who reported for duty this summer following a nationwide search to succeed Richard S. Lapidus, who finished his nine-year tenure in June. “In my first months at Fitchburg State, I have seen what a special role the university plays in the lives of its people and its community, and I look forward to experiencing it with a full complement of students in September.”
In her address, Hodge will outline a vision for the coming academic year. The day’s programming will also include a recognition of years of service by longtime staff and faculty members.
In addition to the events on Sept. 4, early highlights of the fall semester will include:
- Rock the Block, where dozens of student clubs and organizations, along with campus offices, share information about extracurricular opportunities on and off campus, will be held on the main quadrangle and along Highland Avenue starting at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10.
- The 7th recruit officer course (ROC) of Fitchburg State’s groundbreaking police program will graduate at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13 in Weston Auditorium, 353 North St. The 10 graduates, who completed their bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice in May and spent 17 weeks this summer in police academy training, will be certified as police officers ready to work in municipal departments in Massachusetts and neighboring states. All 10 have conditional job offers at departments across the state.
- Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from mid-September through mid-October, with a series of programs organized around the theme “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” The full schedule of Hispanic Heritage Month events will be posted to the university website at fitchburgstate.edu.
- The university will observe Constitution Day at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 in the main lounge of Hammond Hall with a keynote address by attorney, author and student advocate C.L. Lindsay III entitled “Knowing Your Rights: Title IX and Gender Equity on Campus.” The program is free and open to the public.
- The launch of new interdisciplinary academic programs including creative arts therapies and creative arts enterprise. The programs are designed to open career pathways in the arts and healthcare fields, providing students with strong interdisciplinary skills to respond to high-needs sectors of the statewide and regional economies. The university is also starting a new interdisciplinary minor in sustainability studies, with coursework spanning departments to train students for careers in an important emerging field. The university’s School of Graduate, Online and Continuing Education is launching several new programs, including an online master’s degree in construction management that can be completed in as few as three semesters. The program will prepare students to manage complex projects and enhance their decision-making processes.
- The university invites prospective students and guests to learn more about Fitchburg State at its fall open houses on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 26. More information is available through the university website.
The majority of new residential students will move in Monday, Sept. 2 (Labor Day), starting at 9 a.m. from the Wallace Civic Center. The northbound lanes of North Street will be closed to non-university traffic between Ross and Pearl Streets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on that date. The majority of returning residential students will move in starting Tuesday, Sept. 3. There may be brief road closures around campus between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day.
Additional information on news and events is posted on the Fitchburg State website at fitchburgstate.edu.