Ellen Kennedy Reflects on Past, Future of BCC Before Retirement

President Ellen Kennedy last year at a certification ceremony.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — President Ellen Kennedy feels Berkshire Community College is in a good place to welcome new leadership. 

She will retire at the end of the school year after more than 17 years with the college, 14 as president, and looks back on the students, faculty, and campus as a whole with pride. 

"Our faculty is extraordinary. Our administrators and staff are just exceptional. Our students are so special, so committed to their own learning and their own growth as people and in pursuit of their own goals, it's just really exciting," she said recently.

"We have an excellent board of trustees. We have an excellent foundation. I mean, we're just in such a good place right now, and I feel like it's the right moment." 

Kennedy praised the climate and culture BCC has worked to create, explaining, "I think I love the way we are able to empower people to bring their good ideas forward and then to see them be put in place." 

Earlier this year, BCC was designated as a Leader College by Achieving the Dream, a national non-profit focused on student success and community economic mobility.

The college's enrollment is up 20 percent this year, and Kennedy said the state's tuition coverage for all 15 community colleges has been a game-changer for Berkshire County.  BCC's nursing program has also doubled in size. 

"And that took everyone's commitment. It's not just me," she said about the nursing program's expansion over the years, underscoring the work of department leaders. 

Kennedy is the college's second-longest serving president. She was tapped to lead the state's first community college on the departure of Paul Raverta, who was interim and president for seven years. She was the school's vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer prior to being picked as interim president, then was selected by the trustees from 38 applicants to continue in the role. 

The board of trustees will lead a search for the new president. 

"I just know this place, this college, will attract really excellent candidates, because it's just a really special place, frankly," Kennedy said. 

"So I'm not at all worried about what comes next." 

Pittsfield Remembers Lives Lost to Overdose, Underscores Harm Reduction

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33AM / Tuesday, September 01, 2026

Mayor Peter Marchetti reads a proclamation at City Hall encouraging residents to raise awareness and lift each other up. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dozens of people gathered downtown on Monday to remember those lost to overdose and work toward a future of zero deaths from substance use disorder. 

The Berkshire Overdose and Addiction Prevention Collaborative and its partners held a proclamation reading and flag-raising at City Hall, followed by a standout in Park Square with signs promoting the use of naloxone, harm reduction, and reducing associated stigma. 

There were 23 fatal overdoses in Berkshire County in 2025, 11 in Pittsfield. This is down 44 percent from the 41 countywide fatalities in 2024. 

While it is a significant decrease, advocates want to see that number at zero. 

"On the one hand, we're very pleased to see this significant of a decrease. This is actually the lowest number that we've had since [Department of Public Health] started collecting these numbers in 2013, but the goal is still zero," said Andy Ottoson, public health planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. 

August is International Overdose Awareness Month, the world's largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember those lost without stigma, and acknowledge the grief of families and friends left behind. September is National Recovery Month, a national observance to educate the public on the importance of substance use treatment and mental health services.

Samantha Kendall of Berkshire Harm Reduction explained that it is truly meeting people where they are, as they are, and when they are, "and I think we all do a really great job at that."

"We also want to remember that we're building a community for everybody, and systems and policies for everybody. That's really important in harm reduction work, so that's also the reason we're here today," she said.