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The board of trustees unanimously voted in favor of hiring Ellen Kennedy as the new president.

BCC Taps Ellen Kennedy As School's 7th President

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Ellen Kennedy, interim president, joined the BCC staff in 2008. She was not at Tuesday's trustee meeting.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ellen Kennedy will take over as the new president of Berkshire Community College on July 1.

Kennedy, currently the interim president, was chosen by the college's board of trustees on Tuesday afternoon to replace Paul Raverta, who retired. Kennedy was the school's vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer prior to being picked as interim president.

"I am 100 percent certain that Ellen Kennedy is the right choice for president of Berkshire Community College," trustees Vice Chairman Ross Dindio said.

Kennedy earned the vote after a search committee narrowed 38 applications down to three finalists — Kennedy; Stephen Budd, president of River Valley Community College in Claremont, N.H.; and Valerie Roberson, vice president of academic affairs at Joliet (Ill.) Junior College.

The board's recommendation of Kennedy will go before the Board of Higher Education for approval at its regularly scheduled meeting at Cape Cod Community College on June 19. Pending approval from the BHE, Kennedy will officially take the presidential post beginning July 1.

While the trustees spoke highly of the other finalists after interviewing them in May, Kennedy was chosen because of her understanding of the school, community and vision.

"She understands the mission of the college and she advocates for the students," Trustee Pamela Roberts said.

Kennedy has already made connections with government officials, the trustees, staff and students. The board members said they were more confident in her longevity and commitment to the school. Trustee Darlene Rodowicz said Kennedy can "hit the ground running" and the staff and community members have all spoken highly of her.

"I have a sense that people like to work for her," Trustee Paul Caccaviello said. "We can rely on her to have the best interests of the students in mind."


Trustees Michael Wynn and Al Ingegni listen to the other trustee's reasons behind endorsing Kennedy.
Chairwoman Susan Lombard said the only downside was that  Kennedy does not have a doctorate degree. However, Kennedy will finish her graduate work shortly and erase that negative, Lombard said.

"She is the right person at the right time," Lombard said. "She sees not only the institution but the bigger community ... She definitely knows and is not afraid to make the decision to move this college forward."

Kennedy has a master of business administration from the University of Massachusetts, a master of public information from Harvard University and is completing her doctoral degree from Northeastern University.

She joined BCC in 2008 to oversee all of the business-related functions.

Tags: BCC,   college administration,   community college,   

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Simon's Rock Awarded Freedom to Read Grant

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a Freedom to Read Grant by the Newburger Schwartz Family Foundation. 
 
The grant was awarded to support the Alumni Library and Bard Queer Leadership Project in building a more robust collection of queer scholarship, starting a Queer Book Club, and hosting Drag Story Time events in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires.
 
According to a press release:
 
In response to current educational threats with book bans affecting schools and libraries across the country and further proposed legislation against LGBTQ+ people's access to basic rights and education, Simon's Rock is actively seeking to create inclusive and equitable spaces for queer individuals. 
 
The Bard Queer Leadership Project and Alumni Library will utilize the grant funding to expand the library's current collection of queer books in order to fully enable the longevity of the Queer Book Club and the Bard Queer Leadership Project. The Queer Book Club will be an intergenerational space, open to local middle school students through rainbow seniors and will partner with local community organizations, to discuss queer books and learn about LGBTQ+ issues and experiences. Bard Queer Leadership Project students will eventually help lead this initiative as part of their leadership project training. 
 
The Queer Book Club will host their first meeting on April 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Alumni Library, with following meetings on April 27 and May 11. This semester, the selected books are "Obie is Man Enough" and "He/She/They," both by Schuyler Bailar, inspirational speaker and first openly transgender NCAA Division swimmer, who was a guest speaker in the inaugural Queer Leaders Vision Forum in fall 2023 at Simon's Rock. Schuyler Bailar will return to campus for a book signing and pool party at the Kilpatrick Athletic Center on April 19 at 7:00 p.m. Participants in the Queer Book Club will receive a free copy of either book of their choice. 
 
The first Drag Story Time will be on Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Simon's Rock Alumni Library and is open to all LGBTQ+ affirming individuals. The event is in partnership with Drag Story Hour of the Berkshires with local drag queens JV and Poppy DaBubbly. The second Drag Story Time will be Saturday, April 27 with drag queen Poppy DaBubbly and drag king Sativo Green.
 
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