Commissioner of Higher Ed Speaking at BCC Commencement

12:40PM / Sunday, May 04, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega will be the keynote speaker for Berkshire Community College's 65th commencement at Tanglewood in Lenox on Friday, May 30, at 4:30 p.m.

Ortega was sworn in as commissioner in 2022. He has led the Department of Higher Education through a time of historic investment by the state Legislature and Healey-Driscoll administration in affordability and access for all learners in the commonwealth.

"We are truly excited to have Commissioner Ortega speak to our graduates this year," said BCC President Ellen Kennedy. "We know he has spent a lot of his career focused on access, especially for underserved populations, and I think he'll have a compelling story and sage advice to share with our students this year."

He received his bachelor of arts in political science from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, his master of science in school counseling from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, and his Ph.D. in higher education policy from the University of Michigan. His research has focused on postsecondary success for historically underserved students and higher education finance at American public colleges and universities.

Before coming to Massachusetts, he was the secretary of education for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and, as deputy secretary and commissioner for Pennsylvania's Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education, he led efforts to close postsecondary attainment gaps and to diversify Pennsylvania's educator workforce. Prior to that, he held several academic and administrative roles at the University of Michigan.

Ortega began his education career by spending seven years as director of Kogakusha, a language institute in Osaka, Japan, where he trained teachers in early childhood language acquisition. He then spent nearly a decade working in the areas of financial aid and enrollment management at public and private universities in Texas and also served as a P-16 specialist for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

During Ortega's tenure, Massachusetts has more than doubled its investment in the state's financial aid programs. These investments have made the commonwealth's public community colleges free and made its public four-year colleges and universities tuition and fee free for Pell Grant-eligible students, while reducing costs for middle-income students.

He is dedicated to closing equity gaps through the Board of Higher Education's four strategic priorities: student success and affordability, economic mobility, public good, and innovation.

More information about BCC's commencement can be found here.

Tags: BCC, graduation 2025,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Save & Earn with Greylock

3.30% APY 6-month certificate. Click to learn more! Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Neal Tours Berkshire Innovation Center as Pittsfield's Tech Economy Grows

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Congressman Richard Neal visited the Berkshire Innovation Center Thursday to highlight $735,000 in federal funding secured for a new cybersecurity training and testing facility.

"The number one job of the federal government is to provide for the security of its people. I mean, we should never lose sight of that, whether it's China or Russia, every single day there are these belligerents that are attempting to infiltrate national security here in the United States, and we should not be naive about it," Neal said. "I mean, we can have an argument about proportionality; we can do a lot of different things, but not to miss the point of what they're trying to do every day."

The new cybersecurity facility will provide regional manufacturers and businesses with research and design equipment, specialized lab space, and training facilities and is planned to be housed in a to-be-redeveloped space across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), located at 45 Woodlawn Ave.

The derelict property, formerly owned by General Electric, is now known as the William Stanley Business Park.

The project is a $7.2 million dollar investment from the state, $5.2 million from the tech collaborative, $2 million from bond funding secured by Neal, and $1 million that will be split into two phases: $500,000 for BIC to begin building and $500,000 for Myrias Optics to start production in Pittsfield, said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne said manufacturers often highlight the need for help with cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the security requirements necessary to conduct business with General Dynamics and other major contractors.

Collaborators in the field and the public sector have recognized the need that has only grown since technology has advanced and is a great career opportunity, Sosne said.

View Full Story