MWCC e-News

July 28, 2016

In This Issue
President Asquino Among College CEOs Honored by the AACC
Business Community Gathers to Recognize President Asquino's Legacy
Tri-County Consortium Receives $4M Grant for Manufacturing Training
MWCC Receives $573,600 Federal TRIO Grant to Continue Talent Search Programs
MWCC Selected for Pell Second Chance Pilot Program
MWCC Recognized with 2016 Gateway Program Excellence Award
Mount and City Offer Kids a Fun Summer Program
Upcoming Events
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President Asquino Among College CEOs Honored by the American Association of Community Colleges


President Daniel M. Asquino was recently recognized for his three decades of leadership at MWCC by the American Association of Community Colleges. President Asquino, who announced plans to retire in early 2017, was among approximately two dozen retiring CEOs honored during the AACC's 96th annual convention in Chicago.
 
Dr. Asquino is currently the longest serving president among Massachusetts' public institutions of higher education. He was appointed in August, 1987 to succeed the college's first president, Arthur F. Haley. The college's Board of Trustees has appointed a search committee to find his successor.

Pictured: Charlene Dukes, left, chair of the AACC Board of Directors and president of Prince George's Community College, joins AACC President and CEO Walter Bumphus, right, in thanking President Asquino for his years of service to MWCC, the AACC, and public higher education.


Business Community Gathers to Recognize President Asquino's Legacy
Visionary. Collaborative. Energetic. Dedicated. Pioneering. Inclusive. A true leader. These were among the words and phrases used by area legislators, mayors and business leaders to describe retiring MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino during a breakfast sponsored in his honor by three regional Chambers of Commerce. More than 200 business and community leaders gathered June 24 in the college's South Café to toast, and occasionally roast, the long-serving president, who has announced his plans to retire in early 2017 following three decades at the helm of the college and 47 years in Massachusetts public higher education.

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Tri-County Consortium Receives $4 Million Grant for Manufacturing Training
A consortium of four Massachusetts community colleges, led by MWCC, has received a $4 million federal TechHire grant to provide workforce training in advanced manufacturing in Worcester, Middlesex and Essex counties. The Massachusetts Advanced Manufacturing TechHire Consortium (MassAMTC) is a strategic partnership of training providers, employers and the workforce investment system. With this four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, MassAMTC will provide training, work-based experiences, support services and job placement assistance in advanced manufacturing to 300 young people and 100 other unemployed, underemployed, or dislocated workers. Partners include Middlesex, Northern Essex and North Shore community colleges, local workforce investment boards, vocational-technical high schools, the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, and advanced manufacturing employers.

MWCC Receives $573,600 Federal TRIO Grant to Continue Talent Search Programs
The U.S. Department of Education will award two grants totaling $573,600 to MWCC through its Talent Search Program, Congressman Jim McGovern recently announced. The program supports efforts on campuses in Massachusetts and across the country to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in higher education. Each grant is anticipated to be continued for a total of five years to support the programs, which are administered through the college's Division of Access & Transition to nearly 1,200 middle and high school students in North Central Massachusetts.

MWCC Selected for Pell Second Chance Pilot Program
MWCC is one of 67 colleges and universities selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Second Chance Pell pilot program, which is part of a national effort aimed at reducing recidivism and strengthening communities by providing education and job training to eligible inmates. The pilot program will allow 12,000 eligible incarcerated Americans at more than 100 correctional institutions in 27 states to receive Pell grants to pursue their education with the goal of helping them get jobs and support. MWCC is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to provide academic programs to approximately 72 inmates at the North Central Correctional Institute in Gardner, the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Shirley, and the Federal Medical Center in Devens.

MWCC Recognized with 2016 Gateway Program Excellence Award
MWCC has been recognized with a 2016 Gateway Program Excellence Award from the Gateway to College National Network. The award honors MWCC for exceeding all four of the Gateway to College National Network's performance benchmarks: grade point average, one-year persistence, two-year persistence and graduation rate. MWCC's Gateway to College program is a free, full-immersion dual enrollment program for Massachusetts students ages 16 to 21 who have dropped out of high school, are at risk of dropping out, or have experienced a setback in high school. The program, also available to home schooled students, provides motivated students a fresh chance to achieve academic success while getting a jumpstart on college.

Mount and City Offer Kids a Fun Summer Program (The Gardner News, July 29, 2016)
Fun learning and games have kept Gardner's youth so busy this summer they can almost forget the heat of 90 degree days. Mount Wachusett Com­munity College is in the midst of its 12th annual Summer Up program, run in collaboration with the city and held at Jackson Playground, which is free for families and lasts five weeks. An average of about 70 kids a day stop by the playground and on Wednesday morning they were given a treat almost as good as a popsicle: A visit from Mayor Mark Hawke. "It's a safe environment. It's structured, supportive, it's fantastic," Hawke said, adding the program fits well with the playground improvements the city has made in the last few years. The Mount also runs separate Summer Up programs at sites in Fitchburg and Leominster.

Upcoming Events
  • Theatre at the Mount Presents "Hairspray" - Aug. 12 - 21 at Oakmont Regional High School
  • Advanced Manufacturing Info Sessions: Thursdays in August at Devens Campus
  • New & Transfer Student Orientation: Sept. 1, Gardner Campus

For information about upcoming events, click here.


Janice O'Connor
Director of Public Relations
Mount Wachusett Community College
978-630-9547