BEVERLY — In Stephen Immerman's eyes, Montserrat and MIT aren't all that different.
Both schools accept highly talented students for who they are and help them produce their best work. The students are passionate, focused and hardworking, he said.
"The foundation is exactly the same," said Immerman, a former staffer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who took over as president at Montserrat College of Art last week. "And once mastered, they use it to be creative."
That's one of Immerman's traits, as well. At 56, he's moving from Scituate to Salem after working at MIT for about 30 years.
"And I've had 12 or 13 different jobs over those 30 years," he said.
He's worked in student affairs, fundraising, fiscal management, athletics and teaching, to name a few.
"No matter what I was doing, mostly my job has been about bringing people together to accomplish large objectives," he said.
His overarching experience is what made him stand out for the job, Board of Trustees Chairman Lee Dellicker said.
"(His) background, experience and hands-on approach are exactly what our college needs to bring it to the next level of prominence," he said.
Exactly what that next level is remains to be seen. Immerman said it's too early to talk about a plan for the future, but the fact that Montserrat has changed so much over the last two years is what attracted him to the job in the first place.
In true analytical fashion, he plotted out his strengths, the things that made him happy and the opportunities available. His wife, Darcy, had always been the risk taker, but now that his two sons are grown, "I don't want to overstate this, but it was kind of my turn," he said.
"I needed to figure out what was the last part of my career going to look like."
One of his strongest skills, he said, is being able to lead change. And Montserrat has had quite a lot of that.
He's replacing interim President Helena Sturnick, who oversaw construction of a $5.7 million residence complex in downtown Beverly; increased enrollment to about 340 students, up from 265 when she started in 2007; and put Montserrat on a national radar as a small arts college.
"I don't even know how to put a superlative on how motivating Montserrat is," Immerman said. "On all scores, it was the perfect fit, and that's why I'm so excited about joining this community."
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salemnews.com.
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