MCLA Announce Pathways Campaign Has Surpassed Goal

07:50PM / Wednesday, May 06, 2026Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has officially certified that Pathways, the Campaign for MCLA has raised $32.7 million, surpassing its original $25 million goal by nearly $8 million.

The Campaign Cabinet met on April 15. There are three months left of the Campaign.

"The success of Pathways, the Campaign for MCLA is a testament to the generosity and belief of our alumni, donors, and friends who share our vision for what MCLA can be," said MCLA President James Birge. "These resources will directly benefit students for generations to come, and they reflect the kind of institution we have worked hard to become: financially strong, academically excellent, and deeply committed to the people we serve."

Funds raised through Pathways, the Campaign for MCLA have supported scholarships, athletic facility enhancements, travel opportunities for students, and professional development for faculty members. The Campaign's success has helped the MCLA endowment reach the highest level in the College's history, and MCLA's reserve fund has doubled over the past five years to $27 million.

"Pathways is about creating routes to access, opportunity, and student success. Exceeding our goal ahead of schedule affirms that our community shares a deep commitment to MCLA's students and to the future of public liberal arts education," said Susan Gold, parent of an alumna and tri-chair of the Pathways Campaign.

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North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

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