Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke has been named MWCC's 2016 Alumnus of the Year. He will be recognized during the college's 51st Commencement on May 18. "We are extremely proud to honor Mayor Hawke as our 2016 Alumnus of the Year," said President Daniel M. Asquino. "Like many of our students, Mayor Hawke discovered his potential while attending Mount Wachusett Community College, and then followed that path to achieve success both academically and professionally. Moreover, he has consistently demonstrated his commitment to public service, to the college and to our students."

Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito joined public higher education leaders on April 21 to announce the Commonwealth Commitment, an innovative college affordability and completion plan to help more students achieve the dream of a college degree. The Commonwealth Commitment commits every public campus to providing 10% rebates at the end of each successfully completed semester to qualifying undergraduate students, in addition to the standard MassTransfer tuition waiver received upon entering a four-year institution from a community college.

President Daniel Asquino and Jim Bellina, president and CEO of the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce joined faculty and college officials to welcome 18 students into the Chi Gamma Chapter of the Alpha Beta Gamma international business honor society. Alpha Beta Gamma, now completing its 26th year at MWCC, was established in 1970 to recognize and encourage scholarship among students at two-year colleges, provide leadership training opportunities and career assistance to members.

MWCC served as the presenting sponsor of the Worcester Business Journal's Manufacturing Summit and inaugural Manufacturing Excellence Awards ceremony on April 26 at Cyprian Keyes in Boylston. The event featured a keynote address by Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash and a panel presentation. Secretary Ash praised the state's community colleges for their leadership in creating innovative partnerships as well as their role in the Commonwealth economic development strategic plan, Making Massachusetts Great Everywhere, which was released by the Baker-Polito Administration in December.

Equal respect and consideration for one another was the takeaway message at Mount Wachusett Community College on Monday (April 25), as the school held a panel discussion featuring members of the LGBTQ community. A group of six students and educators, a majority from the Mount, talked to a public audience about their experiences being someone who is not heterosexual, or does not identify with the gender they were born as.The forum wrapped up this spring's Tea Time Speaker Series, developed to promote open dialogue about difficult topics.

Read more

MWCC students enrolled in a range of academic programs and involved in numerous activities have been selected as national outstanding campus leaders and will be included in the 2016 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. The 44 students were selected based on their academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities and the potential for continued success. They join an elite group of students from more than 1,000 higher education institutions in the United State and several other countries.

President Daniel M. Asquino and the Division of Human Resources and Payroll honored employees who reached the milestone years of service with the college during the 21st annual Employee Service Awards Ceremony on May 2. Collectively, the recipients represent 625 years of service to MWCC students and the college community.