John Bassett takes Heritage helm

TOPPENISH -- As a youth, John Bassett wanted to go to medical school. But after learning the job called for poking and prodding patients, he began to rethink his options.

"I knew there were other ways to help people," Bassett, 68, joked.

That's when Bassett entered the education field, and now, more than four decades later, he's the new president of Heritage University, a private school with 1,400 students and 325 employees.

Although Heritage, which begins its fall semester Monday, has immediate financial stability, Bassett said he wants to extend that security well into the future. Tied in with that is strengthening the school's academic offerings, so anyone in the Valley will consider enrolling at Heritage.

"The underlying issue is creating an academic base that is strong enough and compelling enough that any student growing up in the Valley will say Heritage is one of their options," he said. "I do believe we have a good academic story to tell here with a lot of success stories, but I want to make it a much stronger academic story."

Bassett has been at Heritage since July 15, spending his days meeting staff, familiarizing himself with the community and taking in a couple Yakima Bears games.

He replaces founding president Sister Kathleen Ross, who is beginning a national institution on campus next year to help disadvantaged students earn degrees. Roughly 100 people applied for the job from across the nation, and three finalists were selected for interviews.

In the next several months, Bassett said he will learn all he can about the university and help it develop a culture of success. What he won't do is make change for the sake of change.

"I don't want to create answers that don't fit here," he said. "You don't want to make the mistake that this (university) is some place else."

Before coming to Heritage, Bassett worked as an English instructor at the University of Rochester in New York, Wayne State University in Michigan and North Carolina State University, where he also served as head of the department.

He then become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio before assuming the presidency at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Bassett worked at Clark for 10 years, and during his tenure, he helped create the nationally recognized University Park Campus School. The small urban public institution serves seventh- through 12th-graders and was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the 100 best public high schools in the country.

More than 99 percent of the school's graduates have passed Massachusetts' graduation exam and more than 95 percent go on to attend college -- most as first-generation students.

His other achievements at Clark included improving information technology on campus, increasing first-year retention from 84 percent to 90 percent, and developing the university's first campus master plan in 2003 and an academic and financial plan for 2005-2010.

"He is a deeply thinking and ethical individual," said David Angel, the former provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark, who has since become president.

"Your community will find very quickly that he is a terrific listener. ... He will take the time to really understand and listen carefully to the thoughts of the university and the community."

Angel, who had worked with Bassett for seven years, said Bassett is a generous person who always looks for ways to promote the success of those around him. He's an experienced leader in higher education, and he is a true scholar who loves teaching.

"The responsibility of a president above all else is to lead and to figure out a vision for the institution -- a vision that will inspire the campus and community," Angel said. "The president must figure out ways to mobilize everyone behind that vision, to lead by doing and to be an example to everyone around them. Those are the things John was good at."

Bassett is first to recognize the differences between Clark and Heritage. Clark was founded in 1887. It's a research university in the heart of Worcester with 2,200 undergraduates, most of whom are white and live on campus.

Heritage was founded in 1982. It's a commuter school surrounded by hops fields, and its students are primarily Hispanic and Native American adults who juggle work and families. Although it has fewer students than Clark, enrollment has steadily increased in recent years -- growing from 233 new students last year to an estimated 350 this year.

Despite these contrasts, Bassett said he's committed to learning all he can about Heritage and build upon the success of his predecessor. He was drawn to Heritage because of all its accomplished since its inception, and he wants to make it even better. Most of the university's students -- who attend the Toppenish site -- come from Yakima and the Lower Valley. The university has branch campuses elsewhere in the state, including Moses Lake and Seattle.

"I'm asking a lot of questions," Bassett said. "Program needs, the diversity of students, building projects, graduate programs, technology and alumni. I'm asking those strategic questions. ... I want to make Heritage stronger."

Bassett said he wants to stay true to the university's mission to serve disadvantaged students, but he also wants it to be an attractive option for anyone in the region. He's determined to set a high bar for academic excellence, so employers value the university's graduates.

He will also work to generate revenue and recruit prospective students, he said.

"I have high standards and high expectations. I look for good ideas and people who work hard," Bassett said. "I will keep Heritage true to its mission, but I'm always looking for new ways to improve that mission."

Kay Bassett, John Bassett's wife, said her husband is a gregarious person who loves people. He has an uncanny ability to remember names -- without notes -- and he's a walking encyclopedia of baseball trivia.

He's also a genuine person, a great speaker and a good husband and father to their two grown children who still live out East, she said.

"We drove across the country for two weeks and are still speaking to each other," Kay Bassett joked. "We've been married for many, many years, and we're still happy."

John Bassett has made a name for himself among the higher education community by serving on numerous committees and boards. One such group is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the largest institutional higher education membership organization in the United States. The council advocates self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation.

Judith Eaton, president of the Washington, D.C.-based organization, has known John Bassett for about five years. He serves on the council's board and is passionate about maintaining the integrity of undergraduate education, she said.

"He is a prince of a human being. He's one of the finest people I've ever met," Eaton said. "He's very thoughtful, very smart and he's always looking to bring people together. He's got a focus on students. With him, it's just so clear all of the time."

Although still new to the community, John Bassett has already made an impression on the staff at Heritage.

Loren Schmidt, an English and philosophy instructor who heads the English graduate program, said Bassett has a reputation of strengthening the academics at each place he works, and he's looking forward to the same happening at Heritage.

"I think he's going to be a terrific president," Schmidt said. "He could have coasted out as president where he was or he could have retired, but instead he wants to help Heritage make its transition. ... I think he could strengthen the whole culture of education across the Valley."

Marie Connolly, director of annual giving, agrees -- saying Bassett is the person who can best help Heritage evolve.

"As universities go, we are still in our infancy," she said. "Our students are ready to go back to their communities with their college degrees and succeed. ... This institution is ready. John is the person to take us to the next level."

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 509-577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.