FEMA Awards Funds to Massachusetts for COVID School Testing Costs

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BOSTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $13.5 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse it for the cost of providing testing at public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The $13,450,826 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for contracting with Trans Med USA Inc. and Merrow Medical to provide test kits at schools between July 2022 and May 2023.
 
The department purchased and distributed 1,089,354 COVID-19 antigen tests to students, faculty and staff at schools statewide during that time period.
 
"FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs," said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. "Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation's ongoing recovery."
 
FEMA's Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
 
So far, FEMA has provided nearly $2.8 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.
 

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MCLA Announces Four Finalists for Next President

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts announced four finalists for the position of president, following a national search. 
 
The finalists were selected by the MCLA Presidential Search Committee and will participate in on-campus visits scheduled for the weeks of April 6 and April 13.
 
The successful candidate will replace President James Birge, who is retiring at the end of the term. 
 
The four finalists are David Jenemann, Michael J. Middleton, Sherri Givens Mylott, and Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson.
 

David Jenemann
David Jenemann is dean of the Patrick Leahy Honors College and professor of English and film and television studies at the University of Vermont, where he oversees recruitment, retention, curricular innovation, and advancement for an interdisciplinary college serving undergraduates from across the university, including UVM's campuswide Office of Fellowships, Opportunities, and Undergraduate Research. 
 
An internationally recognized scholar, he has published three books and numerous articles, with research spanning intellectual and cultural history, mass media, and the intersection of sports and society.
He holds a doctor of philosophy from the University of Minnesota and completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
 
 
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