Guest Column: MCLA Crucial to Building Future Work Force

By Michael Supranowicz - May 07, 2008
Special to iBerkshires

Michael Supranowicz

From the Editor: A recent editorial in The Boston Globe targeted efforts to build a new science center and make other improvements at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts as examples of pork-barrel spending. All while not mentioning how little has been invested in the college over the last 20 years, or how important the public college is as an economic and educational driver in the Berkshires.

When that editorial was republished in The Berkshire Eagle, Michael Supranowicz, president and chief executive officer of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, felt compelled to respond in The Eagle. He has graciously permitted iBerkshires.com to publish his op-ed piece, which we believe says everything we wanted to say except better.

A highly skilled work force is essential to the growth of a region. As the Berkshires move forward in retention and recruitment efforts to fill voids in our current work force and better prepare our future work force, it is critical that we have the infrastructure in place to help us to succeed. There are many people and organizations within the county working tirelessly to help create this infrastructure, bit by bit.

The Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative has put laptops in the hands of 2,300 middle school students and teachers in Pittsfield and North Adams. This pilot program is giving our youth the skills that they will need to compete in the 21st century workplace. Berkshire Applied Technology is a collaboration of regional employers and educators who deliver an integrated system for technical learning in the Berkshire region. With programs such as Got Math, Berkshire Robotics Challenge and Women on Tech Path, we are building the math and science skills that are critical to compete in the 21st century workplace.

Currently, we have the opportunity to take it one step further and create a Center for Science and Innovation at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

MCLA is among the leading institutions in Berkshire County, one of the largest employers in the region, and a vital partner in local and regional collaborations such as the Berkshire Compact for Higher Education, the Berkshire Creative Economy Project, and is the lead partner in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Pipeline Initiative.

A strong foundation in science and math has significant work-force development implications. Studies project demand for workers trained in the emerging fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce indicates there are both current and future needs in the region's professional and technical sector.

Contrary to what Scot Lehigh wrote in his Boston Globe editorial reprinted in The Berkshire Eagle, "One bill’s journey through Beacon Hill," funding for the life sciences in the Berkshires must remain a priority. Too often people forget there are regions of our great state that lie outside the Boston beltways. The Berkshires sit geographically in the center of nanotechnology, with Intel in Hudson, IBM in Fishkill, N.Y., and the proposed AMD $5.2 billion facility scheduled to be built in Malta, N.Y.

A Center for Science and Innovation at MCLA will serve as a work-force incubator as well as a catalyst for industry growth in Berkshire County.

I thank our local delegation who not only realize how important this project is but who, through their hard work and tireless efforts, are protecting and ensuring our corner of the state receives its fair share of funding for the future well-being of our citizens. I believe the opportunity for the county is here; education is the foundation to success, and we cannot let this opportunity pass us by.

The Berkshires has long been known for innovation and finding ways to solve our own problems. Now we must support the need for the funding for the proposed Center for Science and Innovation at MCLA.