Company Notebook

Springfield Falcons, Arizona Coyotes Announce Affiliation
SPRINGFIELD — The Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League and the Springfield Falcons will enter into a multi-year affiliation agreement beginning in the 2015-16 season, Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney and Falcons President Sarah Pompea jointly announced last week. Under this affiliation agreement, the Coyotes will move their American Hockey League prospects, along with coaching and training staff, from Portland, Maine to Springfield. The Falcons and Columbus Blue Jackets have mutually agreed to terminate the final year of their affiliation agreement upon completion of the 2014-15 season. “We are very pleased to partner with the Springfield Falcons,” said Maloney. “Springfield is one of the best hockey markets in the AHL and a great environment to develop our top prospects; we’re looking forward to a great relationship with the Falcons.” Said Pompea, “we are looking forward to starting this partnership with the Arizona Coyotes.”

Columbia Gas Files Rate-hike Request
WESTBOROUGH — Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., filed a petition with the Mass. Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to increase annual revenues by $49.3 million, representing a 9.86% increase in total operating revenues. The filing marks the beginning of the public process of rate setting for a utility, as required by the DPU. Evidentiary hearings on the filing will be held within the next several months. If approved by the DPU, the change would impact the annual gas bill for a typical residential heating customer by an average of $8.50 per month, or 7.5%, beginning March 1, 2016. The requested increase is necessary, said company officials, due to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts’ “intensive multi-year transformative actions to continuously improve its standards and practices in order to continue to provide natural-gas service to customers in a safe, reliable, and cost-effective basis.” The DPU decision is expected by February 29, 2016, with rates taking effect March 1, 2016.

Grant to Enhance Latino Studies at HCC
HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that will enable the college to incorporate Latino studies material into humanities classes, a step faculty and administrators hope will lay the foundation for a full-fledged Latino Studies program at HCC. The $120,000 Bridging Cultures at Community Colleges grant was the largest awarded this year by the NEH to any college or university in Massachusetts, putting HCC on a prestigious list of recipients that also included Mount Holyoke College, Northeastern University, UMass, Amherst College, and Brandeis University.
“Incorporating a Latino-studies perspective into a range of humanities courses will certainly serve the college’s sizable — and growing — Latino student population,” said Matt Reed, vice president of Academic Affairs, in support of the grant. “Students and faculty at large will also benefit from increased understanding, awareness, and appreciation of cultures that play such a significant role in our home community.” From 2009 to 2014, the number of Hispanic/Latino students at HCC rose from 1,477 to 1,879, a 27% increase. During the same period, Latino enrollment grew from 16% to 21% of the total student population. Nearly half, 48.4%, of Holyoke’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, according to the grant proposal.

BCC to Combine Pittsfield Locations
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College (BCC) announced that the institution will consolidate its downtown Pittsfield facilities beginning July 1. In an effort to streamline efficiencies, BCC will shift its operations from the Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) to the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building when its agreement expires on June 30. In 2008, BCC and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) embarked on a unique initiative that involved utilizing available space at the ITC to allow students to access classes in downtown Pittsfield at the public-transportation hub. The effort was achieved with the assistance of former Congressman John Olver, the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, and the city of Pittsfield. BCC and MCLA expanded their downtown presence at the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building in 2011. Dubbed the Education Center at Conte, the location provides convenient access to public transportation. “As part of BCC and MCLA’s commitment to downtown Pittsfield, we will focus our efforts on one convenient location where we can provide high-quality educational services to our students,” said Vice President for Community Education & Workforce Development William Mulholland. 

Springfield College Announces Enhanced Brand Strategy
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College revealed a new brand and visual identity system designed to showcase its rich heritage, varied academic offerings, and commitment to community service. Created to help present a unified message and look, the system includes a new logo and messaging that is built on the foundation of the college’s mission. “The affirmation of our core values of educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others is more relevant today and more needed in today’s society than it was when we opened our doors in 1885,” said Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper. “The triangle in our new logo will remind us of what matters to this community.” The college partnered with the national branding agency Ologie for the comprehensive market-research study, which began in late 2013. The end result clarified the institution’s core values and crafted a unique and compelling message that the entire college community may use moving forward. One of the key insights that emerged from the process was the college’s focus on service to others. “It is the tie that binds together all of the Springfield College programs and departments,” said Cooper. A new college logo, which includes the words ‘Springfield College’ and an inverted triangle, exemplifies the college’s Humanics philosophy, which recognizes that an individual’s emotional, intellectual, and physical lives are interconnected. The inverted equilateral triangle utilized in the new logo dates back to former Springfield College faculty member Luther H. Gulick, a pioneer in physical education and recreation in the U.S., who first introduced the symbol to the college in 1891. “With such a vast and interesting history, the college must bring all of its stories together into a cohesive brand message that authentically expresses the identity of everyone and every program at Springfield College,” said Executive Director for Marketing and Communications Stephen Roulier. The new logo and messaging will appear in enrollment marketing and advertising. An expanded and redesigned website will launch at a later date.

Children’s Hospitals Announce Partnership in Pediatric Neurosurgery
SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Children’s Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center are furthering their clinical collaboration with a new partnership in pediatric neurosurgery. Dr. Jonathan Martin, a board-certified pediatric neurosurgeon employed by Connecticut Children’s, will see patients in Springfield at Baystate Children’s Hospital. Patients who require evaluation for brain- and nervous-system-related surgical care can now receive these services at Baystate Children’s Hospital as well as Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. The new partnership in pediatric neurosurgery advances a clinical collaboration that the two organizations announced last October, aimed at increasing the availability, sophistication, and coordination of pediatric services throughout the Connecticut River Valley. “We’re thrilled to announce that our collaboration is moving forward to provide sophisticated neurosurgical care for kids here in Western Mass.,” said Dr/ Charlotte Boney, chair of Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital. “This is the first time such services will be available in our community, and it’s another step forward in our efforts to provide the best in healthcare right here in the Pioneer Valley.” Added Dr. Fernando Ferrer, chief physician executive at Connecticut Children’s, “our main goal, in exploring a closer relationship with Baystate Children’s, has been to increase the availability of high-level, high-quality, and well-coordinated pediatric services to the Hartford and Springfield communities. Sharing clinical resources helps us achieve that goal and deliver greater value to our patients in the care we provide. We’re proud to be extending the reach of advanced neurosurgical care to the Pioneer Valley with Dr. Martin.” Connecticut Children’s is a clinical affiliate of the UConn School of Medicine; Baystate Children’s is part of the western campus of the Tufts University School of Medicine. Both facilities are Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and both have been recognized by U.S. News and World Report among the top U.S. children’s hospitals.

Vann Group, ROCG Announce Affiliation
SPRINGFIELD — The Vann Group, providers of strategic consulting and transactional advisory services, announced its recently formed affiliation with ROCG Americas, the leading business exit- and transition-planning specialist in North America. The first-of-its-kind affiliation will be mutually beneficial. It will provide the Vann Group with access to the extensive proprietary planning resources and expertise that ROCG has developed over the past 10 years, while ROCG continues to build its capabilities with the addition of Kevin and Michael Vann, a father-and-son team with a diverse set of skills and business experience. “As business transition specialists, we do much more than guide owners through the exit from their business,” said Ronen Shefer, CEO of ROCG. “We are unique because we focus on helping business owners achieve both their personal as well as their business goals, and the earlier we get involved, the chances of actually gaining a better quality of life and increasing business value improve tremendously. Ultimately, we help owners view and run their companies as investors would.” Michael Vann, CEO of the Vann Group, sees the affiliation as a great opportunity. “The ROCG team are the leaders in the succession/transition planning field; no one comes close. Their team has a tremendous amount of real-world experience, and they have developed an approach to planning that can’t be matched. Joining ROCG is a great opportunity for us to grow our planning practice and provide more value to our clients, because we’ll be able to access ROCG’s intellectual property and network of experienced transition specialists.”