MCLA Presidential Pick Staying in Wisconsin

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — MCLA's choice for its 12th president will not be accepting the position.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts announced on Tuesday that Greg Summers has bowed out because of personal issues.

"Dr. Summers was deeply apologetic as he was very impressed with the MCLA community. Unfortunately his family is dealing with a confluence of health issues that have recently surfaced, making it impossible for him and his family to relocate. The board was excited to have found someone of the caliber of Dr. Summers, however, we will take this in stride as MCLA is a well-led and well-managed institution," said Tyler Fairbank, chairman of college's board of trustees.

Summers was the unanimous choice of the trustees on March 5; each trustee gave him high marks, referring to his "fierce commitment to public higher education" and his easy relationship with MCLA community.

North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 

 

She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 

 

"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."

 

Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 

 

The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."

 

Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."