Drury High Grad Being Inaugurated as UIndy President

Robert L. Manuel

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Drury High School graduate will officially take the helm of the University of Indianapolis on Thursday.

Robert L. Manuel, 44, will be inaugurated as the ninth president of the 5,400-student university at a time when it is charting a course for the next two decades of its development.

Manuel, son of Thomas and Tondra Manuel of North Adams, is a 1986 graduate of Drury High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and political science from from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., his master's in higher education administration from Syracuse (N.Y.) University and doctorate in higher education administration from New York University.

He worked in administration at Georgetown University and NYU, most recently as dean of continuing studies and associate provost at Georgetown.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.