News From Campus
Massachusetts Officials Visit MassBay On Thursday, November 17, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Senate President Karen Spilka, Education Secretary Jim Peyser, Massachusetts Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega, and several other local officials presented the “College Affordability Efforts Roundtable” at MassBay’s Framingham campus. The event focused on the MassGrant Plus program, which offsets tuition and fee expenses for low-income community college and public university students; and the Early College program, which enables high school students to take college courses for free, enabling them to earn college credits while still in high school. While the event featured prominent officials, it was the students who stole the show. MassBay was ably represented by Amanda LaRosse, Kristen Morin, Jennifer Rahall, and Francesco Viscomi, all of whom shared their personal experiences with college access and affordability.
Fall Semester
New All-Vehicle Associate Degree Program Launches MassBay Community College launched a new Associate in Science degree program in General Studies: Automotive Technology program in the fall 2022 semester, designed to provide students with entry-level through advanced-level technical training on multiple auto makes. MassBay’s Automotive Technology Division is the premier automotive training center in the New England region, offering programs sponsored by four major automotive makes: BMW, Toyota/Lexus, General Motors, and Chrysler (including JEEP, Fiat, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo). This new general studies program provides students with a fundamental understanding of a variety of makes and models of vehicles, along with the unique opportunity to work with hybrid and electric vehicles from multiple manufactures. “The introduction of this program allows students interested in a career at an independent auto dealership or opening their own auto repair shop to learn on an array of vehicles,” said MassBay Automotive Technology Dean David Protano. “We know this program expansion will help provide the much-needed support and relief for the growing demand for automotive technicians nationwide.” All programs have a hands-on paid co-op component, enabling students to learn in a professional setting while earning money and college credit simultaneously. MassBay’s automotive programs have a 99% placement rate of graduates into full-time jobs.
Land Acknowledgement Ceremony MassBay Community College unveiled a permanent land acknowledgement plaque in a ceremony attended by Chiefs of three native tribes on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. MassBay is believed to be the first community college in Massachusetts to make this public acknowledgement with a permanent marker and a ceremony of reconciliation and healing. The College also announced an Indigenous Peoples Scholarship had been formed for current and future MassBay students. “Today Indigenous people became VISIBLE,” said Chief Ladybug (Croatan) Native Heritage New England and Program Chair for Health Studies at MassBay.
“As a Massachusetts indigenous person, today’s land acknowledgement that MassBay Community College campuses sit on land that belongs to the Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Massachusett tribes was historic for me, my family, and my tribe. Acknowledgment is the first step to our tribal healing.” “We are proud to hold this important ceremony and to give proper recognition of the land on which our college sits,” said MassBay President David Podell. “As our plaque reads, we cannot change the past. But what we can do and will do is to is honor the land, the ancestors, and the indigenous traditions as we at MassBay use this sacred land as a communal place to nurture learners to move forward and make a more inclusive world.”
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