Page 20 - BusinessWest February 6, 2023
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 “This has been an incredible journey ... I think about how much I’ve grown in this role. I never imagined leading through such uncertain times, with a pandemic that few saw coming and for which there was no playbook.”
ing SNAP benefits said, in essence, ‘why can’t I use my benefits on campus?’” she went on. “And we said, ‘good question.’”
As for her own future and what the next chapter might be pro- fessionally, Royal said that is ... still to be determined. And it may not be determined for a while yet. Indeed, while she has already received some invitations to look at opportunities, she is determined to take her time — and take at least the balance of 2023 off — and find the right fit.
In the meantime, she is focused on the remainder of her tenure at HCC, continuing the work that has been done there and prepar- ing the school for a successful transition in leadership.
Court of Opinion
As she talked about what she and her administration have been able to accomplish over the past several years, Royal made sure she didn’t leave out pickleball.
Indeed, under her direction, and in response to the meteoric rise in popularity of the game — a combination of tennis, badminton, and ping pong — the college created several pickleball courts in the Bartley Athletic Center on campus.
“I was looking for something to burn off stress, and as a former tennis player, I really enjoyed the racket sports, and this is some- thing that’s a little easier on my knees,” she said, adding that a former trustee of HCC turned her on to the sport. “We have seven courts here now, and the response from the community has been tremendous; people are calling and asking if we can expand the hours. I think we’ve really tapped into an outlet that people are look- ing for.”
Beyond pickleball, Royal can provide a long list of accomplish- ments and milestones that have happened during her tenure. It includes the college’s 75th-anniversary celebration in 2022— put off for one year because of the pandemic — as well as the 50th anni- versary of the HCC Foundation; the opening of a new life-sciences building and the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, located in a renovated mill in the city’s downtown; and extensive renovations
to the Campus Center, which reopened just a few weeks before the pandemic forced it to go dark once again.
Beyond infrastructure and new academic programming, Royal said the biggest strides made at HCC have come in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and meeting those basic needs of students that she mentioned earlier.
As for meeting students’ basic needs, Royal said there have been many steps forward, perhaps none as significant, and symbolic, as the Homestead Market and the acceptance of SNAP benefits.
Today, other schools and other institutions are looking to fol- low suit, she said, and they are looking at HCC as a leader in what Royal called “hunger-free college campuses.”
“We’ve used this as an opportunity to be responsive to students, and also to be able to further our work with basic student needs,” she noted, adding that there was a prime motivating force behind the school’s perseverance in this matter: “it’s hard to educate a hun- gry student.”
As noted earlier, meeting student needs goes well beyond food, said Royal, who has been at the forefront of many such efforts, from housing and internet service to an important recent addition to the portfolio: the President’s Emergency Fund, which is ... well, just what it sounds like, a fund to help students in emergency situations.
They can apply quickly and easily, said Royal, and they get a response within 24 hours.
“We cut a check immediately,” she said, noting that funding for the program was set up through the school’s foundation and has grown through the support of alumni and other donors to the col- lege, including faculty and staff. “If you’re experiencing an emergen- cy, that means you don’t have weeks to wait for financial resources to come in. And this fund has made a huge difference.”
Overall, these various programs reflect an operating philosophy at the college that, especially in a community like Holyoke, students need more than the right mix of courses to succeed — however they might define success.
“When we started our strategic plan, we defined our basic needs as encompassing four key priorities — food insecurity, housing inse- curity, housing, and child-
care,” she explained. “And
in the process of addressing
 Royal
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Continued on page 24
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