Victoria Jennings Ross to Speak at Ventfort Hall

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LENOX, Mass. — Victoria Jennings Ross, an independent scholar who writes and lectures on art, architecture, and social history, will talk about several early Lenox feminists at Ventfort Hall's  Tea & Talk on Tuesday, June 18 at 4 pm. 
 
A tea will be served after her presentation.
 
According to a press release:
 
Three Lenox ladies, the Misses Kate Cary, Heloise Meyer and Mary de Peyster Carey, were all expert horsewomen, but they were also early feminists. Their financial independence and network of close female friendships allowed them to choose an unconventional life as bachelor maids, without men, marriage, or children. 
 
Victoria Jennings Ross has a master's degree in art history and a certificate in museum studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. After a forty-year career as a writer/editor and curatorial researcher at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Museum of American Art, Washington D. C.; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, she is an independent scholar who writes and lectures on art, architecture, and social history. In August 2020, the American Scholar published an article she wrote on sporting women in the Gilded Age ("Ahead of the Game," American Scholar, August 17, 2020), which is part of a larger manuscript on country resorts like Lenox at the turn of the century. 
 
Tickets are $40 for members and with advance reservation; $45 day of; $22 for students 22 and under. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call us at (413) 637-3206. Please note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

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BCC Sees Another $1M for New Trades Program

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was allocated more than $1 million from the state for an HVAC and heat pump trades program.

This will help BCC renovate an existing space into a lab and classroom, with the hope of welcoming the program’s first students in early 2027. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said there is "clearly" an interest, a lot of momentum, and demand for the skilled trades.

"We are beyond excited about this opportunity, not only for the college, but for the region, to be able to create a skilled trades program for adults, and it's a complement to what is already happening at the college," she said. 

The $1,188,635 award was announced on Tuesday as part of $13.4 million to 13 state community colleges through the Mass Clean Energy Center’s new Heat Pump and HVAC Training Network.  Between state and federal funding, the college has recently been allocated more than $2 million to diversify its educational offerings. 

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending for a Trades Academy

The nearly $1.2 million in state funds will support a renovation on the first floor of the field administration building for an HVAC heat pump and lab classroom, along with two cohorts of ten students. 

"We have made a lot of progress," Clairmont reported. 

"We've identified a location, right on campus. We are working with architects and engineers right now to design the space, along with some expertise in what is state-of-the-art for HVAC training in real-world environments." 

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