Easton Resident Selected as New Bridgewater State University President

An Easton man has been chosen to become Bridgewater State University’s 12th president.

Fred Clark was unanimously selected by university’s Board of Trustees as the school’s next president Monday night in public meeting at Crimson Hall’s Dunn Conference Suite.

The decision is contingent on ratification by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education at a special meeting on Dec. 2.

The vote brings to end a six-month process which saw 80 applicants, eight airport interviews, and four finalists.

“The goal of the search committee was to choose the best candidate to become the next president of Bridgewater State University,” Vice Chairman Eugene J. Durgin said in a press release. “We set the expectations of our next president and defined how this person would take the university to the next level of achievement.”

Clark, who graduated from the school in 1983, has worked at the university since 2011 as an Executive Vice President and Vice President for External Affairs.

Prior to returning to Bridgewater, Clark served as the Executive Officer of the Massachusetts State Universities’ Council of Presidents for a decade and was chief aid to the late Congressman John Joseph Moakey for two decades.

He has been on public higher education governing boards as well according to the school. Most recently, Clark served on the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (2007-2008) and, prior to his career in public higher education, on the BSU Board of Trustees and the Bridgewater State University Foundation.

Photo: Bridgewater State College