Page 54 - BusinessWest October 13, 2021

People on the Move are monthly
mindset. Engineering Unleashed is a community of 3,800 faculty members from 160 institutions of higher education, powered by KEEN, a 50-partner collabora- tive that shares a mission to graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset who are equipped to cre- ate societal, personal, and economic value. The Engi- neering Unleashed faculty-development workshops are elements of KEEN’s multi-institutional activities. Kwaczala is one of 27 individuals from institutions of higher education across the country to receive this distinction.
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Country Bank President and CEO Paul Scully
announced the appointment of four prominent busi- ness professionals to its board of trustees and four new corporators from local businesses within the communities it serves. Attorney Richard Maynard,
the only technical community college in Massachu- setts, is federally designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution, with 30% of the students identifying as Hispanic. The city of Springfield suffers high unem- ployment and poverty. Fifty-six percent of STCC stu- dents receive federal Pell grants, which are awarded to students who display exceptional financial need. Hispanic and low-income students enter college
with greater developmental math needs and lower retention and graduation rates, on average, than non- Hispanic and higher-income students. Only 11.4%
of Hispanic and 14% of low-income students major in STEM. As part of the grant focusing on access and retention strategies, STCC will partner with UMass Amherst and Central Connecticut State University to expand transfer opportunities for students.
Springfield Museums Receive
Shuttered Venue Operator Grant
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums wel- comed U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Small Business Alliance Massachusetts District Office Director Robert Nelson to the Quadrangle green on Oct. 7 to announce a $1,200,000 Shuttered Venue Operator Grant (SVOG) from the U.S. Small Business Admin- istration (SBA). As part of the American Rescue Plan, the SVOG program provided more than $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues and was administered by SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Due to the coro- navirus pandemic, the Springfield Museums shut its doors for four months, the first time this has hap- pened in its 164-year history. “As a beloved commu- nity anchor and an important informal-learning hub, we were overjoyed to reopen in July 2020,” Springfield Museums President Kay Simpson said. “Our visitors make our museums alive with energy and potential, and we are so glad to have them back in our build- ings. We are deeply grateful for the funds provided by the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant, which will help us make up for the lost time during that four-month period.”
Springfield College, UMass Launch
Accelerated Law Degree Program
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College and the Uni- versity of Massachusetts Law School – Dartmouth have finalized a 3+3 agreement that will create new, accelerated opportunities for Springfield College stu- dents to attain a law degree. As part of the agreement, Springfield College pre-law students will spend three years working toward their undergraduate degree before enrolling at UMass Law, where they will begin taking law courses that fulfill their remaining under- graduate requirements while beginning their legal education. Springfield College Professor of History
owner of the Law Offices of Richard H. Maynard, P.C., and Elizabeth Rappaport, partner at Century Invest- ment Co., both from Western Mass., have joined the board of trustees. New trustees from Central Mass. include Ross Dik, owner of Knight-Dik Insurance in Worcester, and Stacy Luster, general counsel and assistant to the president of Worcester State Universi- ty, who will also serve as a corporator. Newly appoint- ed corporators include Jennifer Cooke, director of Retirement Plans at CIG Private Wealth Management; Melissa Fales, Loan Program coordinator at Quaboag Community Development Corp.; William Trudeau, executive vice president and partner at HUB Inter- national LLC; and Kyriakos Konstantaki, co-founder and principal at Amcomm Wireless.
and Pre-Law Advisor Thomas Carty was instrumental in forging this pathway for Springfield College stu- dents with UMass Law. Students will earn their bach- elor’s and juris doctorate degrees in six years rather than the traditional seven. These accelerated degree programs allow students to apply credits earned dur- ing their first year of law school to their final year
of college, saving students thousands of dollars in tuition payments and living expenses. Over the past five years, UMass Law ranks second in the nation, among nearly 200 ABA-accredited law schools, for enrollment growth, while maintaining the smallest first-year doctrinal course sizes among all Massachu- setts law schools. UMass Law’s most recent ABA Stan- dard 316 ‘ultimate’ (two-year) bar pass rate is 92% across all jurisdictions. UMass Law has twice been ranked among the best law schools in the country for its program of practical training. The law school also ranks second among all 15 law schools in New Eng- land for the percentage of students entering public service.
Jewish Family Service Receives Citizenship and Integration Grant
SPRINGFIELD — Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts (JFS) has been awarded a competitive two-year $250,000 Citizenship and Integration Grant from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This grant enables JFS to continue its work helping legal permanent residents become U.S. citizens. The fiscal year 2021 grants, which run through September 2023, will fund legal services for citizenship applicants and educational programs designed to deepen an appli- cant’s knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics. Since it began in 2009, the Citizenship and Integra- tion Grant Program has awarded more than $112 million through 513 competitive grants to immigrant- serving organizations in 39 states and the District
of Columbia. Now in its 13th year, the program has helped more than 290,500 lawful permanent resi- dents prepare for citizenship. JFS is one of 40 orga- nizations in 25 states to receive nearly $10 million in funding to support citizenship-preparation services. Now in its 13th year, the USCIS Citizenship and Inte- gration Grant Program has helped more than 290,500 lawful permanent residents prepare for citizenship.
A ‘permanent resident’ is a person authorized by the U.S. government to live and work in the country on a permanent basis. Jewish Family Service is a nonprofit social service agency that has developed both sub- stantive legal and programmatic expertise during its 10 years of experience in citizenship and naturaliza- tion services.
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hands-on
events run- ning throughout this academic year. The workshop is
intended to introduce students to the entrepreneur- ial mindset in an inclusive community within the makerspace facilities within the College of Engineer- ing. Some activities align with Kwaczala’s research in assistive technology, such as building rapid proto- types of body-powered prosthetic devices and low- tech assistive technology to improve activities of daily living. Other activities are geared toward understand- ing a product’s marketspace and learning about man- ufacturing in scale-up, such as glowing LED pump- kins for Halloween decor and laser-cut jewelry to sell at the holidays. The projects are intended to promote technical skills and coach students to use a growth
Notebook
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Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley
Awards Five $1,000 Scholarships
SPRINGFIELD — Five area students were each awarded a $1,000 Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship to advance their education by the law firm that bears his name. The Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship is awarded annually to a union member affiliated with the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation or their spouse or dependent. Applicants are asked to submit their high-school or college transcripts, writ- ten recommendations, a recital of recent community service, and an essay detailing the importance of the labor movement to their family. Winners of this year’s awards are Emma Cowles of Wilbraham, Samantha Franciosa of Granby, Emma Hayward of Pittsfield, Antonia Perakis of West Springfield, and Elizabeth Sarnacki of East Otis.
STCC Receives $7.35 Million
to Enhance STEM Education
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) has been awarded two grants worth more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Education to boost student success among Latinx and low-income students in STEM fields, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal announced during a visit to STCC. The first grant, titled “Project Acceleration: Re-engineering Pathways to Student Success in STEM,” will run for five years for a total of $3 million. It will allow STCC to create a STEM studies program and develop sup- port services to increase access to STEM careers. The grant is designed to increase enrollment and improve the graduation rates of Latinx and low-income stu- dents in STEM majors and help them continue with their studies instead of withdrawing from school. In addition, the grant will allow STCC to help reduce
the time it takes male students of color, particularly Latinx, to complete studies. The grant falls under the federal Title V program, which was created to improve higher education of Hispanic students. The second grant announced by Neal is titled “STEM Access and Retention Strategies.” The five-year grant, totaling $4,352,559, will allow STCC to create and enhance support services for Latinx and low-income stu- dents. Services and programs supported by the grant include creation of STEM-focused first-year experi- ence courses; utilization of proactive STEM advisors, which would involves bringing services to students rather than waiting for them to ask; and implementa- tion of additional mental-health services. In recent years, STCC created a STEM Center that offers oppor- tunities for tutoring and group study for all students. The college also provides mentoring and coach-
ing. The new federal grant also will allow STCC to enhance professional development for faculty. STCC,
54 OCTOBER 13, 2021
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