Daily News

AMHERST — Hampshire College appointed as its eighth president Edward Wingenbach, an administrator, faculty leader, scholar, and proponent of liberal-arts education.

For the past six months, he has served as acting president of Ripon College in Wisconsin, the liberal-arts college where he has been vice president, dean of faculty, and a professor of Politics and Government since 2015. Previously, he served for 15 years as an administrator and faculty leader at the University of Redlands in California.

“For 50 years, Hampshire College has represented all that is best in higher education,” Wingenbach said in accepting the appointment. “I see my charge as helping to reinvigorate its proud legacy of innovation because its example is too important, and there are too many students who need and want its high-impact, individualized, student-driven education. I believe in Hampshire, and I’m excited to help lead it into its second half-century.”

Hampshire’s board of trustees voted unanimously for Wingenbach’s appointment last Friday after a formal recommendation from the presidential search committee chaired by trustee Ellen Sturgis and comprising faculty, students, staff, trustees, and alumni. The board’s goal was to name a new president this summer to help guide the college in securing its operations, planning for its future, and preparing for the coming academic year. 

Since its founding in the 1960s by Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and UMass Amherst — its partners in the Five Colleges — Hampshire has remained a national innovator and leader in empowering students to design their own degree program and learn by active inquiry, mentored by faculty.

In his 15 years at the University of Redlands, Wingenbach aligned his teaching with the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. Originally founded as an independent college in 1969, the Johnston Center emerged from the same philosophy as Hampshire, guiding students to direct their own learning. Both institutions belong to the Consortium for Innovative Environments in Learning (CIEL), a working group promoting best practices around education reform and experiential learning. Wingenbach believes this high-impact model is more relevant to today’s global challenges than ever, preparing graduates with skills for the most creative, meaningful work and a lifetime of learning.

“I find Hampshire’s model of education to be thrilling,” he said. “I have seen how it utterly transforms the lives of students, faculty, and staff.”

Daily News

WESTFIELD — Vista Outdoor Inc. recently announced it completed the sale of the legal entity operating its Savage Arms and Stevens firearms brands to a financial buyer for a total purchase price of $170 million, comprised of $158 million paid at closing and $12 million to be paid upon maturity of a five-year seller note issued by the buyer to Vista Outdoor in connection with the transaction.

“Divesting our Savage brand was a key aspect of our transformation plan,” said Chris Metz, CEO of Vista Outdoor. “While it was a difficult decision to sell such an iconic brand, I remain confident that this was the correct choice to help Vista Outdoor grow in those categories where we can have leadership positions. Savage is a fantastic business, and it deserves to continue to evolve into other firearms categories. At this time, however, we simply do not have the resources to transform Savage into the full-service firearms company that it deserves to be, and, therefore, we determined the brand would be better off with a different owner. We’re excited to see Savage reach its full potential under new ownership.”

Savage was acquired by Vista Outdoor’s predecessor, ATK, in 2013. ATK’S sporting business — which included Savage, Bushnell, Federal, CCI Ammunition, and dozens of other hunt/shoot accessories brands, spun off in 2015 to become Vista Outdoor. 

“The Savage acquisition helped create Vista Outdoor, and we’re grateful for all the success the brand brought to our company over the past six years,” Metz said. “However, this divestiture now gives our ammunition brands flexibility to work with any industry partner to create the best products and meet our consumers’ needs.”

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Freedom Credit Union announced the addition of Andrew Sullivan as commercial lending officer.

“Andrew brings a wealth of education and experience in business to his new role with the Freedom Credit Union team,” said Jeff Smith, vice president and chief lending officer. “He’s a native of West Springfield, and his knowledge of that area will directly benefit the customers of our newly opened branch there.”

As Commercial Lending Officer, Sullivan is responsible for working with new and current business owners on their lending needs and the range of services available to them at Freedom Credit Union. He previously served as a small-business lending officer and portfolio manager at Country Bank.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting/business and an MBA from Elms College. He is the founder of the Andrew Sullivan’s Swing for a Cure charity, a golf tournament that has raised more than $30,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — On Friday, July 19, the Northampton Jazz Festival will bring New Orleans vocalist Samirah Evans to the Pulaski Park stage in downtown Northampton as part of the Northampton Arts Council’s Summer Concert in the Park Series.

Opening DJ Ron Freshley will start off the event spinning jazz records, starting at 4 p.m. Isosceles Groove will lead off the set starting at 6 p.m. This jazz trio is made up of three high-school jazz musicians: Cameron Campbell on piano, Conway Campbell on bass, and Jacob Smith on drums. After their set, Isosceles Groove will then back Evans. It’s an example of Northampton Jazz Fest’s goal of providing opportunities to mentor young musicians and develop an appreciation for the uniquely American art form of jazz.