30th Anniversary History Book

For Andrew Field, who enrolled at Beacon the same year that Hagerty came on board, the workaround is memorization. Along with a speech impediment and anxiety, Field also struggles with his short-term memory. So, prior to taking an exam, he would memorize the answers to the most likely questions he would face. “This was the only way for me to get a good score on the tests,” he said. Hagerty began losing his sight when he was 19 and a freshman in college because of a rare disease of the retina. He was completely blind in his left eye at 25, then at the age of 42 — while the president of Franklin Pierce University — the disease returned and claimed the central vision in his right eye. “I must say with all candor that my eye issues have never slowed me down,” he said, “but rather served as an abiding motivator to move ever onward.” Though being blind differs greatly from a learning impairment, Hagerty said, he understands firsthand the good and bad of living with a disability in a world full of people with no diagnosed issues. “On the positive side,” he said, “any perceived limitation can become a strength with motivation, focus and a supportive community. Less than positively, however, is coping with issues of self-confidence, independence, and being recognized for the disability, not the person. I not only empathize with our students, I have experienced parts of their journey in many ways.” Hagerty’s workaround? It included orientation and mobility (cane) training, working with speech-to-text and text-to-speech programs, as well as relying heavily on voice as a way to recognize others. “As I am unable to read facial expressions,” he joked, “I stay away from poker.” Over the course of his first six years at Beacon’s helm, the college’s enrollment has more than doubled (435 undergraduates in fall 2019) and the campus has been revitalized (with 10 construction projects and

2017 Beacon College Board of Trustees

Train depot turned Beacon Fitness Center

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