Meet the Need... Make a Difference - Massachusetts School of ...

From the Chairman of the Board
It’s both an honor and privilege to serve, along with my colleagues, on the Board of Trustees of MSPP
in such a stimulating and exciting environment. Our role is to lead and support the administration in
accordance with the school’s core values that are stated as follows:
4Train
a diverse group of professionals to expertly employ psychological theory and skills
to improve the mental health of the community;
4Integrate
rigorous academic instruction with substantial clinical experience and careful
attention to the student’s personal and professional development;
4Assume
the social responsibility to create programs to educate providers to meet society’s
changing mental health needs;
4Provide
leadership and advocacy in mental health care through education, scholarship,
professional activity and service; and
4Create
a learning environment that facilitates personal and professional growth in a
challenging, supportive, and available atmosphere.
We are sometimes seen as the school’s black box (or are not seen at all), because our work tends to be
in the background; but our 22 volunteer trustees work daily along side the school’s officers, faculty,
staff and students to insure and increase the value of the educational experience and degrees for our
students and alumni.
Consistent with its strategic plan, MSPP is successfully transitioning from, primarily, a PsyD program
to a college of psychology by introducing new degree programs in psychology specialties and mental
health study tracks for professionals in other fields. Student enrollment reached a new peak of 303 and
is expected to increase by 20 percent over the next three years. To accommodate this expansion, 10,000
square feet have been added to the campus and will be ready for occupancy by December 2007. These
milestones have been reached while enriching the learning environment, witnessing an increase in
applicants’ qualifications and preserving the school’s collegial character.
As we celebrate our achievements, the Board is busy planning the school’s future through its newly
formed task forces. In the context of constant change and growing needs, our focus is on purchasing
our own campus, evaluating our strategic plan, implementing new business practices and integrating
evidence-based treatments into our curriculum.
During this past year, our esteemed colleague, Dr. Eugene D’Angelo, stepped down from the Board
as Vice-Chair after six years of dedicated service. Dr. Paul Lipsitt, a trustee for six years, was recently
elected to fill this important position. Both are valued friends of MSPP and are inspirations
to psychologists everywhere. In addition, we welcome trustees who recently joined our Board—
Adam Ameele, Stewart Cohen, Dharma Cortés, Hugo Flores, Jon Herzog and Thomas O’Reilly.
I’m grateful for this opportunity to report on our school’s progress and to express my appreciation
for your valuable support. Your donations make a meaningful difference to the financial aid and
the educational experience that our students need and deserve. Thank you for including us in your
philanthropy.
Yours truly,
Peter Berenson, CPA
Chairman, Board of Trustees
4Peter Berenson 4Nicholas A. Covino
From the President
After a meeting one afternoon, I met the father of
one of our students in the library. Mr. Birkhead
is the father of Molly, whose profile you will
read. In response to my compliments about his
daughter, he said: “We always knew that Molly
would wind up at a place like MSPP.”
A “place like MSPP” is the creation of many
tangible and intangible factors. The personal
and professional development of students
here is the exclusive focus of faculty, staff and
supervisors. Where 50 percent of students fail
to complete graduate programs in this country,
MSPP graduates 92 percent. Hours spent
with patients and clients allow mental health
care to become personified; personal assets
to be experienced; limitations to be met and
mastered; and academic theory to come alive.
Talk of service to the community is “walked”
through the work of the Freedman Center for
Child and Family Development and the Lucero
Latino Mental Health Program that you will
read about in this report.
We tend to attract students like Molly who are
related, bright, socially conscious, resourceful,
and who think outside of the box. They
contribute much more to this community
than they withdraw. The synergy that is the
creative force of students, faculty, staff, trustees,
supervisors and community colleagues
creates a learning environment at MSPP that
is extraordinary. And these students make
exceptional professionals.
In the pages that follow, you can see that
the Massachusetts School of Professional
Psychology is working to fulfill its mission to
meet the mental health needs of the community.
With new courses of study in School,
Counseling, Forensic and Organizational
Psychology to add to our Doctor of Psychology
degree program, we are placing professionals in
settings where they can have the most impact.
Our Lucero Latino Mental Health Training
Program distinguishes MSPP as one of the few
schools in the country training language and
culturally competent mental health specialists.
On behalf of our faculty, staff, trustees,
students and those with whom they work
(and will work), I ask for your financial support
to continue to develop the exceptional culture
that is the Massachusetts School of Professional
Psychology.
Thank you for your investment in MSPP.
Proudly and gratefully,
Nicholas A. Covino, PsyD
President
2007 Annual Report |