BCC Assistant Professor Awarded $5K Grant from Mass Cultural Council

11:41AM / Tuesday, March 17, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announced that Assistant Professor of English Liesl Schwabe has been awarded a Mass Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals for $5,000.

The funding will support Schwabe as she works to complete a collection of essays, largely pulling from the research and reporting she conducted while serving as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in Kolkata, India, during the 2024-2025 academic year. Schwabe's previous writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, World Literature Today, Words Without Borders and LitHub, among other publications.

"While essential federal funding for the arts is cut or eliminated entirely, it is all the more important to recognize Massachusetts for its ongoing support of and advocacy for individual artists and our communities," Schwabe said. "I am tremendously honored to receive this Mass Cultural Council grant, which provides both material support and vital professional encouragement."

Mass Cultural Council adopted a $34 million spending plan for the current fiscal year, allowing the agency to award at least 2,200 grants totaling approximately $26.2 million to the Commonwealth's creative and cultural sector. This funding derives primarily from public dollars, including the agency's $26.9 million state budget appropriation and support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment.

Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to advance the Commonwealth's creative and cultural sector by celebrating traditions and talents, championing its collective needs, and equitably investing public resources.

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Second Streets Second Chances Awarded $85K for Workforce Re-Entry Program

By Brittany Polito03:00PM / Monday, September 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A local program for formerly incarcerated citizens seeking a technical career received $85,000 from the state.

On Thursday, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $2.25 million in Re-entry Workforce Development Demonstration Program grants to 12 organizations that will provide job training, career support, and employment opportunities to 445 formerly incarcerated individuals returning to their communities.

Second Street Second Chances was allocated $84,712 to partner with the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office to offer a training program to 12 returning citizens with a focus on the advanced manufacturing and engineering industry.

The funds will be used to put 12 returning citizens through a training program with a focus on the advanced manufacturing and engineering industry. Successful program graduates will be placed in manufacturing and welding roles at Onyx Specialty Papers and Hi-Tech Mold and Tool.

The program was one of 12 awardees, a majority on the eastern side of the state; Greenfield also saw funding.

"When people return to their communities, they should have a real opportunity to get a good job, support their families and build a stable future," said Gov. Maura Healey in a press release.

"These grants connect people with the training and experience they need to succeed and with employers that are ready to hire."

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said successful reentry means making sure people have the tools and opportunities to move forward, and these programs bring together community organizations, public safety partners, and employers to connect people directly with training and jobs.

Launched in 2022, Second Street Second Chances' mission is to provide a central point of access for medical and mental health, housing, job training, legal services, and more for a successful reentry into the community.

Early this year, the nonprofit saw an $89,000 grant from the program. Executive Director Lindsay Cornwell at the time said this funding allowed 2nd Street to expand its mission of supporting returning citizens in Berkshire County through meaningful workforce opportunities and a pathway toward sustainable employment.

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