Company Notebook

Hub International Limited Acquires Assets of FieldEddy Insurance
CHICAGO — Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, announced that it has acquired the assets of FieldEddy Insurance and Your Choice Insurance Agency, servicing the Central and Western Mass. region. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. FieldEddy’s operations will become part of Hub International New England, strategically broadening its current network of offices located primarily in the Eastern Mass./Boston region. FieldEddy is a full-service property and casualty, personal-lines, and employee-benefits brokerage, with four locations in and around Springfield. The firm’s strengths in the education, healthcare, and energy industries, including oil and gas, complement Hub New England’s expertise. Additionally, Hub New England will broaden FieldEddy’s capabilities with expertise in real estate and non-for-profits, as well as offering a robust risk-services solution and access to an expanded carrier network. With the FieldEddy acquisition, Hub New England now has 22 offices and almost 500 employees throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. FieldEddy CEO Samuel Hanmer and President Timm Marini will both join Hub New England’s executive leadership team. Within the region, Hanmer will focus on identifying potential M&A candidates and strategic growth initiatives, while Marini will coordinate sales strategies. They will both report to Charles Brophy, president and CEO of Hub New England. “FieldEddy is a talented group of producers with a great local-market reputation that gives Hub New England a strong foothold in Central and Western Mass.,” Brophy said. “We see a real opportunity to bring Hub’s carrier relationships and customized, industry-specific risk-services capabilities as value adds to clients for an expanded service offering.”

Bay Path Receives $3.5M Grant for Online Programming
LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University has been awarded a U.S. Department of Education First in the World grant for the support of innovative online programming for women. The $3.5 million grant will be awarded over four years, beginning Oct. 1. Out of nearly 500 applicants, the U.S. Department of Education awarded 24 grants nationally. Bay Path University is one of six minority-serving institutions, one of three women’s institutions, and one of two institutions in Massachusetts to receive the coveted grant. The First in the World grant, which provides grants to institutions of higher education to spur the development of innovations that improve educational outcomes, will support Bay Path University’s all-women, all-online degree program known as the American Women’s College, the first of its kind in the nation, which was launched earlier this year. Specifically, the grant will fund the development of the Social Online Universal Learning (SOUL) platform. “We are honored to receive an award that allows us to continue to advance adult women on a trajectory for academic success and degree completion that will have a significant impact on women, their families, communities, and workplaces” said Dr. Carol Leary, president of Bay Path University. “Bay Path’s innovative approach to learning is poised to reach the 76 million women in America who currently do not have a bachelor’s degree. With this grant, we will be able to help adult women achieve accelerated success in online education.” SOUL accelerates the degree-attainment process for students by creating an adaptive, customized learning environment that integrates robust learning analytics for instruction, providing immediate feedback on individual academic performance and wrap-around support needed to excel, such as coaching, proactive counseling, virtual learning communities, and social networking. “After receiving nearly 500 applications from around the country, we’re excited to announce that Bay Path University will receive a First in the World grant, funded for the first time this year,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Each grantee demonstrated a high-quality, creative, and sound approach to expand college access and improve student outcomes. We are confident these projects will have a positive impact on increasing access on completion and help us reach President Obama’s 2020 goal to once again have the highest share of college graduates in the world.”

UMass Named One of 100 Best Universities in World
BOSTON — The University of Massachusetts has been named one of the world’s top 100 universities by Times Higher Education in the magazine’s annual global survey. UMass was ranked 91st in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, jumping 41 places in a single year and moving into the top 20 of U.S. public universities. The rankings use 13 separate performance indicators to examine a university’s strengths against all its core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook. About 700 universities are pre-selected for inclusion in the survey using public research-excellence data before further data is collected and analyzed. UMass was ranked 19th among all public universities in the U.S., and first in New England. Among private and public universities, UMass placed seventh in the six-state New England region. The California Institute of Technology was rated the highest of all universities, followed by Harvard and Oxford. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in sixth. UMass President Robert Caret said he was pleased with the global recognition of the university’s commitment to excellence. “This world ranking reflects the hard work of staff, faculty, and students; the high-quality teaching on all five UMass campuses; and the university’s leading-edge research,” he said. Full results of the annual rankings are available at www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings.

A Plus HVAC Feted for Energy-efficient Practices
WESTFIELD — A Plus HVAC of Westfield is a 2014 COOL SMART award recipient, honored during the New England Air Conditioning Contractors of America golf tournament recently. Sponsored by the Massachusetts/Rhode Island COOL SMART program, the annual awards recognize contractors for energy-efficiency practices, leadership, and quality installation of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Held in Stowe, Mass., the tournament attracts approximately 150 participants throughout the region. Springfield resident and A Plus HVAC President Nathan LeMay was on hand to accept the award on behalf of his company. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, COOL SMART is a high-efficiency central-air-conditioning and heat-pump program for residential customers of National Grid, NSTAR Electric, Unitil, Western Massachusetts Electric Co., and Cape Light Compact. This initiative promotes the purchase and verified quality installation of ENERGY STAR-qualified central-air-conditioning and heat-pump systems. Said Western Massachusetts Electric Co. Residential Program Manager Kevin Parse, who participated in the tournament, “we are proud to be affiliated with such a successful program that promotes technical excellence and green practices. It benefits our customers and the greater good through energy efficiency.” Conservation Services Group, a Westborough-based residential energy-services firm, implements the COOL SMART program.
 
Greenfield Community College Wins National Green Genome Award
GREENFIELD — As part of an expanding national effort to support environmentally sustainable practices, programs, and job training at the nation’s almost 1,200 community colleges, Greenfield Community College is one of five exemplary community colleges to be presented with an American Assoc. of Community Colleges (AACC) Green Genome Award. The Green Genome Awards, created by AACC’s Sustainability Education and Economic Development Center (SEED), are evaluated in four key areas critical to holistic green college transformation: community engagement, governance, program design and delivery, and strategic partnerships. Greenfield Community College is recognized as the overall winner, demonstrating excellence in all four key areas. That excellence can be seen in GCC’s academic programs in Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency and Farm and Food Systems, on-campus photovoltaic solar panels and permaculture garden, campus-wide composting and recycling, collaborations with many community partners, and campus leadership that considers sustainability in its decision making. Greenfield Community College will be awarded $7,500, plus a set of state-of-the-art Bahco-brand Snap-on tools and horticulture equipment. The awards are sponsored by Snap-on. “As the primary organizing body of community colleges of the United States, AACC knows and understands community colleges across the country. We therefore are most honored and lifted by this recognition,” said GCC President Bob Pura. “I am so very proud of all of the people in the college and the community who made it possible for AACC to recognize GCC with this award. It is great to get acknowledged for demonstrating best practices by an organization that is so well-informed. What this award also does is encourage us to work harder and aspire to even higher standards.”

Homewatch CareGivers Receives Best of Home Care Award
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Homewatch CareGivers announced that it has received the Best of Home Care Award from Home Care Pulse. This award is given only to the top-ranking home-care providers in the country. “The Best of Home Care Award shows that Homewatch CareGivers has a proven record of excellence in home care,” said Erik Madsen, COO of Home Care Pulse. “This gives families peace of mind when looking for quality home care.” Added Homewatch owners Peter and Judy Yaffe, “we are very pleased and proud to have received this designation.” Home Care Pulse, a company that measures client and employee satisfaction, created the award to recognize home-care providers who appreciate their clients’ feedback and are dedicated to providing the highest level of quality, professionalism, and expertise in home care. Home Care Pulse believes that honoring such companies can both educate and assist families to make better care decisions for their aging loved ones. “The recipients of the Best of Home Care Award have proven their dedication to providing quality home-care services,” said Madsen. “We applaud their achievements and congratulate them on receiving this award.” To find out more about the Best of Home Care award or Home Care Pulse, visit www.bestofhomecare.com.