MCLA's 2020-2021 Presidents Report by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

ADAPTING +

ACHIEVING

PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2021

OUR TRAILBLAZERS ARE RESILIENT, DEDICATED, AND DETERMINED, AND HERE AT MCLA, THEY RECEIVE AN EDUCATION THAT WILL SERVE THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.” —JAMES F. BIRGE, Ph.D. 2

IT HAS BEEN QUITE AN ACADEMIC YEAR, TO SAY THE LEAST. In the fall, after months of careful planning, MCLA students returned to on-campus living and hybrid learning, mixing remote and in-person classes and activities, then heading home on Thanksgiving break to finish out the semester in a remote format. In the fall 2020 semester, we managed to keep positive test rates on campus more than ten times lower than the wider community. Despite our efforts and great outcomes in the fall and early spring semesters, an increase in positive cases in early April prompted the decision to pivot to remote learning for the remaining four weeks of classes. I am proud of the work this community accomplished to stay safe during a year filled with unprecedented circumstances. In addition to the important work of preserving public health and protecting our community, our students continued to have engaging academic discussions, plan virtual club activities, execute theatrical productions, and work on research presented at our annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Imagining the obstacles students overcame to succeed is mind-boggling and impressive. Students continued to have hard discussions and ask tough questions about how they, and we as a community, could be more inclusive and could more effectively do the work of dismantling racism and discrimination. They learned in the moment, setting up panels on public health, vaccine distribution, and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. They heard from renowned guest speakers who visited our campus virtually to speak about everything from national politics to climate change to their own experiences as members of the LGBTQIA+ population. They also learned from our alumni community, who put in thousands of hours volunteering to mentor students, speak about their career experience, and send notes of support and encouragement. While we as a nation have suffered incalculable losses this year, we have also seen our community rise to many different challenges. We continued our work on campus and beyond to tackle racial and economic inequality while confronting the challenges of the pandemic. Our Trailblazers are resilient, dedicated, and determined, and here at MCLA, they receive an education that will serve them for the rest of their lives. Both this year, and our students, have made me hopeful in so many ways—certain, even—that soon our campus will be back to its former vibrant self, with all the hallmarks of a residential liberal arts education. I am confident that this generation, and the MCLA students who will soon go out into the world to build their own lives and careers, will continue to do their part to make the world a more inclusive, sustainable, kinder place.

James F. Birge, Ph.D. President

HEROES

WORK HERE A COMMUNITY EFFORT TO FIGHT COVID-19

Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the Berkshires and changed everything about the way we work, live, and interact, the staff at MCLA’s MountainOne Wellness Center have been working around the clock—first to help plan the College’s pandemic response activities, then to coordinate testing and contact tracing while also seeing students for various other health-related issues. Dr. Jacqueline Krzanik, Health Services director and a nurse practitioner, Dr. Aimée Bullett-Smith, nurse practitioner, Christine Rodriguez, registered nurse, and Susannah McAllister, Health Services office manager, coordinated almost 5,000 COVID-19 tests on campus this academic year in partnership with the Broad Institute, which processed MCLA’s tests in its labs. This team of three full-time staff, with Rodriguez on campus two days a week, “rolled with it, and did whatever it took to get it done,” said Krzanik. That included coordinating volunteers

for MCLA’s test site alongside Vice President of Student Affairs Cathy Holbrook and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Gina Puc. Around 30 College staff members checked people in, performed tests via nose swab, and more. The Health Services team also kept in touch regularly with the College’s leadership team, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and health care workers in local emergency rooms, both reporting information from campus and receiving information about community spread. On campus, “it reached a point where we were testing anyone who wanted to be tested,” regardless of whether they were presenting symptoms, Krzanik said. “The ability to be able to do that was huge.” While MCLA did see a handful of COVID-19 cases among the community during the fall, there was no spread from these cases on campus, and the College’s positivity rate was 10

times lower than the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’. Even during the spring semester, when the College made the decision to pivot to remote learning in April after an uptick in cases, the level of spread was lower on campus than in the wider Berkshire community. “As sad as it is, we’re proud we made it as far as we did,” said Krzanik. “I think the whole medical community, nationally, globally…I don’t think anyone thought this would be anything they would ever have to deal with.” After the students left residence areas in April, the Health Services staff finished work at its test site and kept tabs on any students finishing out quarantine periods in the Flagg Townhouse area set aside for students who tested positive. They then shifted testing to an appointment-based model, directing anyone displaying symptoms of the virus to Berkshire Health Systems’ Stop the Spread testing site near campus. The Health Services staffers said they received plenty of appreciation from the MCLA community, from flower deliveries to handwritten notes, grateful emails, and thank-yous from students. “The collaboration with the other campus offices and departments has been huge,” said Bullett-Smith. “One day, two coaches spent hours helping us contact trace; we had 4050 people to contact. It was close to the end of the day and we had been doing it since 8 a.m. We didn’t even ask—someone made a comment, and boom, we had assistance.” What’s the most important takeaway from this year, according to Krzanik? “How, as a community, people were willing to lend a hand. We would get emails and phone calls from people wanting to know if and how they could help,” she said. “Keeping the positivity rate low was a job that required multiple departments and multiple individuals to work alongside us to make that happen.” Dr. Aimée Bullett-Smith, DNP, MS, FNPBC; Dr. Jacqueline Krzanik, DNP, MS, FNP-BC; Christine Rodriguez, RN; and Office Manager Susannah McAllister

WHILE MCLA DID SEE A HANDFUL OF COVID-19 CASES AMONG THE COMMUNITY DURING THE FALL, THERE WAS NO SPREAD FROM THESE CASES ON CAMPUS, AND

THE COLLEGE’S POSITIVITY RATE WAS

10 TIMES LOWER THAN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

CREATING

MEMORIES WITH VIRTUAL COMMENCEMENT CELEBRATIONS

In May, MCLA held back-to-back virtual Commencements for the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021, with an audience of thousands who watched from their homes across the country. MCLA coordinated with graduates to collect their college memories, photos, short videos, and personal messages, which became part of the virtual ceremony alongside degree conferral, recognition of honorary degree recipients, and Commencement speeches. The College also sent memorabilia and degree covers to each graduate, and special ceremonies for academic majors, clubs, and honors societies took place at individual virtual events.

Honorary Degree Recipients and Commencement Speakers CLASS OF 2020 Dr. Mary Dana Hinton Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 2020 Commencement Speaker Mary Dana Hinton is the president of Hollins University. An active and respected proponent of the liberal arts and inclusion, her leadership reflects a deep and abiding commitment to educational equity and the education of women. She speaks frequently in the U.S. and abroad on topics related to the liberal arts and inclusion, and she founded the Liberal Arts Illuminated Conference. Jenn Smith 2020 Honorary Doctor of Journalism Jenn Smith joined The Seattle Times Education Lab as the engagement editor in fall 2020. Her work entails building community-based networks, projects, and reporting that center promising approaches to some of the most persistent challenges in public education. She previously spent 15 years producing award-winning reporting and projects with The Berkshire Eagle. During her tenure there, she focused on education reporting and serving as its community engagement editor.

CLASS OF 2021 Ty Allan Jackson Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters 2021 Commencement Speaker Ty Allan Jackson is an award-winning children’s book author, literacy advocate, and captivating motivational speaker. In 2011, he founded Big Head Books, LLC, now Ty Allan Jackson, LLC, a literacy organization that aims to introduce children to the joys of reading. Ty travels around the country inspiring children and educating adults about the impacts of illiteracy. B. Stephen Boyd 2021 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters B. Stephen Boyd is the CEO of Boyd Technologies in Lee, Mass., and a co-founder and Board Chair of the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC). As an advisor and frequent speaker on economic development, he is focused on collaboration and building value through partnerships that align entrepreneurs with vision, talent, strong teams, and breakthrough technologies.

JEFF FLAKE

SUSAN NATALI

DR. CAREN BEILIN

DARNELL MOORE

MCLA EXPANDS ITS AUDIENCE WITH

VIRTUAL LECTURES Though it wasn’t possible to pack the Amsler Campus Center with visitors this year, MCLA still brought diverse voices, thought leadership, and expert perspectives to campus through virtual lectures. Thousands of people, from students and community members to parents and alumni located far from campus, were able to enjoy these events from their homes. Some highlights from the 202021 academic year:

Former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake | October 2020 Michael S. and Kitty Dukakis Public Policy Lecture Series Drawing on his nearly two decades of experience on Capitol Hill, in both the Senate and House of Representatives, Jeff Flake shared candid, thought-provoking, and engaging insights on today’s political climate. Combining riveting anecdotes from his time in office, lessons from his New York Times bestselling book Conscience of a Conservative, and insights on the importance of civil leadership and bipartisanship, Flake painted a vivid picture of our current political environment and where we can expect our nation’s democracy to go from here.

Dr. Susan Natali, Woodwell Climate Research Center Arctic Program | November 2020 Elizabeth and Lawrence Vadnais Environmental Issues Lecture Dr. Susan Natali is an Arctic ecologist whose focus on permafrost thaw is motivated by an acute awareness of the risks it poses in the Arctic and to the planet. She leads the Woodwell Climate Research Center’s Arctic Program, which investigates the drivers and consequences of rapid Arctic change. Her research examines the effects of permafrost thaw and northern wildfires on the release of greenhouse gasses, and thus, on global climate. She also works with local communities in the Arctic who are adapting to the impacts of a rapidly warming climate, including the effects of permafrost thaw.

Gallery 51 Featured Artist Series

ALEX MORSE

CONRAD EGYIR / GALLERY 51 ARTIST

MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center continued to host virtual talks with artists from all over the world for its Featured Artist Series, including Anina Major, whose work, primarily in clay, draws from anthropological research and oral histories to challenge postcolonial ideology and advocate for critical dialogue around developing cultural identities; Conrad Egyir, whose narrative paintings borrow from Afrocentric folklore that is rooted in political and religious erudition; and multimedia artist O.M. France Viana, whose artworks interrogate the semiotics of color, spirituality and consciousness, and Filipino American and Venezuelan identity.

Dr. Caren Beilin, MCLA assistant professor of English and communications | March 2021 Hardman Scholar-in-Residence Caren Beilin is a creative writer working at the intersection of feminism and disability poetics. She is the author, most recently, of the nonfiction book Blackfishing the IUD (Wolfman Books, 2019), a CLMP Firecracker Award nominee. Her other books include a memoir, Spain (Rescue Press, 2018), and a novel, The University of Pennsylvania (Noemi Press, 2014). As Hardman Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Beilin shared details about a new MCLA residency program she developed with MASS MoCA that aims to invite young, emerging writers into the MCLA and North Adams community.

Darnell Moore, author, and Alex Morse, mayor of Holyoke, Mass. | September 2020 and March 2021 Lavender Voices Lecture series In the first lectures of a new series established through the MCLA Lavender Fund, which raises funds to bring LGBTQIA+ speakers to campus, sends students to LGBTQIA+ conferences, and sponsors student trips to historic and influential locations in the LGBTQIA+ movement, Moore, an award-winning writer and leading Black Lives Matter activist, discussed his bestselling memoir, No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America. Morse shared the story of his political journey, from growing up in a housing project in Holyoke to becoming its youngest and first openly gay mayor at age 22.

CONTINUED COMMITMENTS TO

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION MCLA continued its commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the 2020-21 academic year, with new programming from a large number of campus offices and departments.

The Berkshire Cultural Resource Center presented an entire year of talks and exhibits focused on racial justice, immigration, and public health (page 14). Interns from the MCLA Institute for Arts and Humanities made space for diverse perspectives through student-led programming (page 10). The MCLA Office of Advancement raised funds for LGBTQIA+ speakers and programming (page 17) and held its inaugural Lavender Voices talks (page 7). In September, Mohan Boodram became the first openly gay person of color to serve as Board Chair (page 9). Thanks to a $1.2 million federal grant, the MCLA TRIO Program launched to offer additional support to students who are the first in their families to attend college, come from families with income eligible backgrounds, and/or have a documented disability, Students continued to advocate and make their voices heard, even though the COVID-19 pandemic made it harder to do so in person, and panels on racism in public health and understanding whiteness and white supremacy offered context and information to the MCLA and Berkshire community. In October, the College held its annual Day of Dialogue with the theme “Creating Change Through Community: Action and Organizing,” exploring the many ways community organizing can empower us to make change. “Community organizing is the process of building collective power, particularly among those who have been marginalized,” the MCLA Day of Dialogue organizers say on its website, “to make change, always with an eye toward creating a more just community and society for everyone.”

MCLA Chief Diversity Officer Christopher MacDonald-Dennis’ on-campus work helps drive MCLA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion forward every day. A diversity expert with decades of experience, Dr. MacDonaldDennis’ thought leadership has been appreciated and shared on a national scale. Recently, he discussed the importance of language in this time of racial justice in two op-eds he co-wrote for Newsweek, and on Think, a nationally syndicated radio program from KERA, a Dallas-based NPR member station.

Read the full story: www.newsweek.com/bipocisnt-doing-what-you-thinkits-doing-opinion-1582494

MEET

MOHAN BOODRAM CHAIR, MCLA BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mohan Boodram is one of MCLA’s longest-serving Trustees, having joined the board in 2012. One year, he put 4,000 miles on his car driving back and forth to North Adams from Boston, where he’s Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 2020, Boodram became the Chair of MCLA’s Board of Trustees—the first openly gay person of color to hold this position. Before that, he chaired the board’s Enrollment Management Committee for seven years, and co-chaired the College’s 2016 Presidential Search Committee with Trustee Susan Gold. He spoke with MCLA about his new role as chair, the goals and challenges he sees on the horizon, and what he loves most about MCLA. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BECOME BOARD CHAIR AFTER EIGHT YEARS AS A TRUSTEE? I really enjoy serving in this role. It’s been great to work more closely with President Birge, and to get to know him better and engage in more in-depth conversations with him. I feel like I’ve gotten a chance to have a front-row seat to the inner workings of the institution—and now, I can find new opportunities for the board to expand and support that work in a way that I wasn’t able to do in quite the same way as a committee chair. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON OF COLOR TO HOLD THIS ROLE? I’m honored to be the first person in my demographic in this role. It informs the way I do this work. I’m excited by the opportunity to help amplify the voices of communities that feel they aren’t always fully heard. In our meetings, you’ll often see me ask a pointed question about how something impacts populations that may feel marginalized on campus. For example, if we’re discussing faculty going on leaves of absence, I might ask, how many of them are faculty members of color? How might it impact students to see fewer faculty members of color that semester? How do we ensure that we keep students engaged while those faculty are away from campus? I have more opportunity to introduce those kinds of questions and keep us mindful of the ripple effects of seemingly routine decisions. WHY ARE THE LIBERAL ARTS IMPORTANT TO SOCIETY? There’s a saying that a liberal arts education doesn’t just prepare you for your first job—it prepares you for your third, fourth, and fifth job. MCLA teaches students how to think critically, how to digest information in a thoughtful way. It’s more important than ever that we are preparing citizens who

can consider different sources of information, evaluate them, and make good judgments about their credibility. MCLA instills those kinds of values through the core curriculum, and it’s exactly what our society needs. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN AT MCLA IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? I think a lot about resources and development—how do we ensure we have the resources to maintain the campus and the financial support to offer these programs to as many students as possible? Recent fundraising campaigns and volunteer efforts have been successful, and many have given generously of their “time, talent, and treasure”: How do we expand on that and continue to engage alumni and the community so that they remain invested in the future of our institution? I am grateful to former MCLA President Mary Grant for first opening my eyes to the transformative impact that MCLA has on so many lives, and we need to continue to spread the word far and wide. As a public institution, I believe we also need to function in a manner that makes a statement about living in a multicultural society, figuring out how to best serve a diverse student body and prepare them for life and success in an increasingly multicultural world. That’s a challenge to our whole society, and we’ve done good work on this at MCLA recently, more than ever before. We have to keep building on and expanding that work. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT MCLA? Living in the Boston area, just seeing the landscape of the Berkshires when I drive into North Adams, with the mountains in the distance—I love that. It’s inspiring to see. One of the things that attracts me to the MCLA mission is that there are people from urban populations, who are very far from the Berkshires, who might not have a chance to have a small, personalized experience like this if not for MCLA. I love going to events and seeing students showcase their talents, from sporting events to concerts to academic presentations. It’s great to see our students have a chance to express themselves and show what they can do in a way that might be harder to do at a larger institution amid so many competing voices. And most of all, I love attending Commencement, and hearing the family of a first-generation student cheer boisterously as that student crosses the stage. That just gets to me. I just love that. I know what that means to them and it’s rewarding to be part of that.

ON A MISSION INTERNS ENHANCE THEIR SKILLS WITH IAH A team of six interns is helping the MCLA Institute for Arts and Humanities meet its goals this year, driving everything from programming to graphic design to community engagement.

A grant-funded initiative supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, MCLA-IAH works to strategically promote equity-centered change on campus and in the community by expanding access to area arts and humanities resources, catalyzing opportunities for interdisciplinary engagements, and advancing experiential teaching and learning practices in higher education. Since the Institute was founded, it has held community events and virtual panels, created a media resource library, and developed a series of workshops and events for students, managed and developed entirely by student interns, and chronicled by by them on the Sm(ART) Commons Blog, which explores arts and culture in the Berkshires. MCLA students Declan McDermott ’21, Drew Thomas ’21, and Brianna Christie ’22 make up the IAH team; Brittany Lutz ’21 and Comfort Acheampong ’23 are working on the Sm(ART) Commons Blog. Destiny Rivera ’21 is working actively in both internships.

positions in arts organizations, such as artistic direction, or even in arts unions where my advocacy could be the focus of my everyday occupation.” McDermott has been working on IAH communications since last year. He’s responsible for developing communications strategies to help the IAH reach its audiences and serving as the point of contact for IAH’s various community partnerships, from other MCLA departments to the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which is collaborating with IAH on the resume and portfolio series. Last fall, he developed the “Unlikely Conversations” speaker series, which brought arts management professionals and artists together for virtual events discussing issues such as unpaid internships and using art as a catalyst for social change.

Though each of these students plays a different role in IAH programming, they all have developed individual projects that relate back to the Institute’s mission, which is important to them as new professionals. “My goals are to work in the nonprofit arts sector as an arts manager and advocate for those who don’t feel like they have a voice,” said McDermott, who is serving as MCLA-IAH’s communications manager. “When you are an emerging artist, or even an artist who is not traditionally represented in the industry, speaking up is intimidating. I can imagine myself working in leadership

Drew Thomas ’21

NOT ONLY HAS THE SIZE OF MY PORTFOLIO INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY, BUT THE CONNECTIONS AND INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE I’VE GAINED IS NOTHING SHORT OF PRICELESS.” — DREW THOMAS ’21

Other projects include Rivera’s Empowered Voices Collective, which offers an online platform for creative work from BIPOC students, featuring poetry, short stories, freewrites, photography, and artwork; and Thomas’ launch of an IAH YouTube channel. “People can have easy access to our webinars, online events, and more,” said Thomas. “I’ll also be producing recurring video content with the goal of giving a platform to minorities who want to share their experiences.” A design major, Thomas has worked with the IAH for several semesters, creating graphics and videos that help market IAH events and projects. “As someone with goals geared toward graphic design and marketing, this internship has been everything,” he said. “Not only has the size of my portfolio increased substantially, but the connections and industry experience I’ve gained is nothing short of priceless.” Christie, an English and communications major with concentrations in writing and public relations, is IAH’s public relations and social media assistant. “My job is to find ways for IAH to have a bigger media presence on various platforms, so faculty, staff, and students are able to understand what the institute does and has to offer,” she said. Christie had worked with the IAH in other ways before serving in this internship, but wanted the opportunity to get some PR experience before graduation. She’s now

Drew Thomas ’21

managing IAH’s robust social media presence, getting the word out about events—and using content developed by other IAH interns to do so. Meanwhile, these experiences are chronicled by the Sm(ART) Commons Blog staff. Lutz, an arts management major who is minoring in art history, has spent three semesters working on the blog, and is now its senior editor. She’s been working closely with the MCLA Alumni Association, creating content that showcases the paths of arts management alumni. “Another project I am focusing on is adding videos and workshops designed by students to the platform. As a team, we’re working together to build a solid bridge between IAH and Sm(ART). There is so much overlap in goals and objectives that a solid relationship between the two makes sense,” she said. “My future career goal is to be a director of an arts and culture foundation,” Lutz said. “This internship has given me experience with web design, networking, independent working, and now, managing a team.” As they build skills and are empowered through work on independent and team projects, the students continue to prioritize MCLA-IAH’s mission—which is important to them personally as well as professionally. “Although I don’t know exactly what I would like to do, I know advocacy and mentorship will always have a part in my life,” said McDermott.

NURTURING THE COMMUNITY

MCLA VOLUNTEER CENTER BUILDS ON EXISTING WORK WITH NEW PROGRAMS, VIRTUAL CONNECTIONS Before the pandemic, the MCLA Volunteer Center was running regular weekly programs, with participation from more than 200 student volunteers and community members. The COVID-19 pandemic forced it to pivot, but the staff and student volunteers rose to the occasion, expanding food pantry access, developing virtual programming, and keeping as much of its usual activities going as possible despite pandemic restrictions. “We’ve been able to expand our geography,” said Spencer Moser, MCLA’s director of civic and community engagement. “Now, we have an opportunity to connect with people from all over the world, as well as do handson work. When we come out of this, we’ll be that much more poised, ready, and available to do more of these things in a dynamic way.”

Some notable activities from the 2020-21 academic year: FOOD PANTRY ACCESS EXPANSION Student volunteers Shelby Dempsey ’21 and DeAnna Wardwell ’22 developed an online pick-up service that students can access via an online form. Students choose a time to pick up their food order, and the pantry’s student coordinators manage pickups. “It’s an excellent way for us to follow social distancing guidelines while also ensuring students are getting the food they need,” Dempsey said. Food Pantry Coordinator Meaghan Murphy ’21 worked to established a Canvas page, which sends quick announcements, helps qualifying students learn about benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), rent assistance, free tax help, and other services, as well as provides a list of resources that includes every food pantry in Massachusetts and nearby New York state. “Those of us managing the

pantry felt it was the next, obvious step in what we can provide to the student body. We may not be experts in things like SNAP, but we can connect them with people who are,” said Moser.

NEW VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS In addition to legacy programs like LEAD Academy, which is entering its 17th year, student volunteers regularly develop community programs, including Berkshire Buddies, a Facebook-based group for local school children run by Kaylea Nocher ’21 that connects pen pals, writes notes of kindness for local community members, and organizes other positive activities for children and families, and the MCLA Mentoring Program, in which MCLA students virtually mentor school children in the Berkshires, New York, and Boston, run by Emma Marino ’24. Melanie Davis ’22 ran a weekly virtual theater program for young children living in her hometown of Sandwich, Mass., where they learned the basics of acting and costume design. MCLA students are volunteering with Pathways, connecting with local high school students to encourage them to pursue higher education. Students are also developing a leadership skills program for their peers, which will support students in learning effective leadership, teamwork, and communication skills and applying them to real situations.

SPRING DAYS OF SERVICE In early spring, dozens of people asked to sign up for Day of Service activities before the Volunteer Center had a chance to post details about programming. When the College made the decision to pivot to a remote semester in April, the Volunteer Center pivoted, as well.

DeAnna Wardwell ’22 picking up orders for the Food Pantry.

WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND OUR GEOGRAPHY. NOW, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, AS WELL AS DO HANDS-ON WORK.

Community Engagement Coordinator Christopher Hantman ’14 adapted programming for the day and encouraged students to volunteer in their own neighborhoods. Hantman and the Volunteer Center staff also provided plenty of virtual options, including opportunities for dialogue around the importance of citizenship, voting, and advocating for marginalized populations. “Our intent now is that these programs also carve out time to talk to participants about volunteerism and civic engagement, voting, and public office,” said Moser. “It’s lit a fire around our interests in having discourse and dialogue around why it’s really important that we engage with our community, and our public officials, and start to look at the spectrum of engagement, from volunteerism to social change through advocacy,” Moser said.

WHEN WE COME OUT OF THIS, WE’LL BE THAT MUCH MORE POISED, READY, AND AVAILABLE TO DO MORE OF THESE THINGS IN A DYNAMIC WAY.” —SPENCER MOSER, DIRECTOR OF CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Learn more at: www.mcla.edu/student-life/service-leadership/ volunteer-center/index.php.

ART THAT

AMPLIFIES MCLA BCRC TAKES ON SOCIAL ISSUES, AND THE COMMUNITY JOINS IN MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center produced an extensive slate of virtual programming, exhibitions, and discussions this academic year, all focused on using art as a catalyst for advocacy and a deeper understanding of current social issues like immigration, racism, and public health. In addition to increased collaborations with local museums, nearby colleges, and the Northern Berkshire arts community, more MCLA professors are incorporating BCRC programming into their classes, and BCRC has welcomed artists from all over the world to offer exhibits, virtual talks, and other activities. “So many different faculty members have said, ‘let’s use the art in our classroom discussions and activities,’” said BCRC Director Erica Wall. “It’s a testament to the work we’re doing here that so many want to collaborate with BCRC. It shows the arts are integral to a liberal arts education.”

HOSTILE TERRAIN 94 A multisite, interactive installation meant to starkly illustrate the violence of U.S. border policy, MCLA’s Hostile Terrain exhibit incorporated community signage and billboards throughout the Northern Berkshires, a hotline phone number where people left messages answering questions like “when did you forget you were an immigrant?”, and even a one-credit class examining the art and anthropology of immigration activism led by Anna Jaysane-Darr, assistant professor of anthropology. MCLA Gallery 51 featured the work of Sergio de la Torre, Chris Treggiari (Sanctuary City Project), and Trinh Mai, all who collaborated with students, faculty, and the community on a series of workshops and experiences examining belonging, fear, and trauma. All told, MCLA’s HT94 installation included collaborations with dozens of artists, professors, and community partners, including Lisa Donovan, professor of arts management; Melanie Mowinski, professor of art; Jenna Sciuto, assistant professor of English & communications; Victoria Papa, assistant professor of English & communications; and Sandra Burton, professor of dance at Williams College.

RESIST COVID / TAKE 6! MCLA joined MASS MoCA, Williams College, and Bennington College in showcasing MacArthur Awardwinning artist Carrie Mae Weems’ Resist COVID / Take 6! project, which combines Weems’ photographs with messages that promote health and safety, offer hope, give thanks to frontline workers, and highlight the staggering death toll of COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact of the virus on Black, Brown, and Native American communities. BCRC and the MCLA community used this work to explore these themes on campus, working to identify and address the needs of the College’s BIPOC community. Students in Professor Melanie Mowinski’s Introduction to Design class created their own campaign, using Weems’ work as inspiration. The DO THE WORK of Antiracism campaign was created by the students and placed on two of four

billboards sponsored by BCRC, along with Weems, in North Adams and Pittsfield. Related events included an anonymous Q&A with MCLA Wellness Center staff, a panel on vaccines and herd immunity coordinated by students in Assistant Professor of Community Health Nicole Porther’s Health Promotion and Planning Class, and an open mic in response to health and wellness organized by Assistant Professor of English & communications Jenna Sciuto. Future projects are planned for the Fall 2021 semester, including a sound collage by Assistant Professor of Education Lisa Arrastia. “Never in our history have we had a pandemic, and this scope of social unrest, all coming together at one moment,” said Wall. “We felt that was most important to our own campus community within this larger project. We’re using this campaign in perpetuity; all of it is to model for the students what civic engagement and social justice activism looks like. All of it is to model for the students what civic engagement and social justice activism looks like.”

DISMANTLING RACISM BCRC has continued to collaborate with other organizations and artists to present work that asks tough questions about racism, close to home and on a national scale. This included a collaboration with MASS MoCA on “In Sessions,” a series of four panel discussions intended to address racism and social issues facing museums today, in order to make these sites more inclusive, streamed live on MASS MoCA’s YouTube and Facebook; and monthly community conversations on racism with the North Adams Artist Impact Coalition. Wall said these kinds of collaborations help introduce students to the wider arts and culture community in the Berkshires and bring new voices to important conversations that should involve everyone who lives here. “My hope and intention were that we would broaden the exposure our students and community have to the arts within the region and outside of the region, and that that representation would be as diverse as possible,” she said.

RISING TO THE

CHALLENGE ADVANCEMENT CREATES NEW OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH FUNDRAISING, VOLUNTEERING, SCHOLARSHIPS The MCLA Advancement Office widened its reach this past year, creating new ways for alumni to take part in College life, from career panels to writing letters to incoming students. The Advancement team also raised funds for new scholarships, unique programs such as the Lavender Fund, which supports LGBTQIA+ programming, and emergency funds to help students who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

EMERGENCY FUNDS AND MUTUAL AID

$54,129

$26,327

raised from 206 DONORS for the MCLA Resiliency Fund; with money the College received from federal CARES Act funding, the Advancement Office was able to distribute $298,930 IN GRANTS to 296 STUDENTS IN NEED.

raised since December 2018 for the MCLA Food Pantry, including $15,725 from 68 donors since 2020; this helped the Food Pantry stock its shelves and provide grocery gift cards to access food from local retailers

PARTICIPATION AND VOLUNTEERING

1,840

440

participants in Advancement Office programming during the 2020-2021 academic year

alumni volunteered their time to MCLA in the 2020-21 academic year, logging 2,650 hours in programs that support current students and recent grads—plus 1,250 additional hours volunteered on MCLA boards and committees

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING

new scholarships awarded, adding to the 100+ scholarship opportunities already available for MCLA students

$10,000 awarded for the first time through the MCLA Feigenbaum Scholars program, which is presented to students working with a faculty advisor to present academic work at the College’s annual Undergraduate Research Conference

MCLA GIVES

619

donors participated in MCLA’s annual day of giving, raising $76,787 for College programming, scholarships, and other initiatives

125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

$178,544 in funds were raised for students at MCLA’s Virtual 125th Celebration event

LAVENDER FUND

$7,000+ has been raised annually since 2019 to bring LGBTQIA+ community speakers to campus, send students to attend LGBTQIA+ conferences, and sponsor student trips to historic and influential locations associated with the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement

2 0 STUDENT -21 AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS We’re reflecting back on the impressions all our MCLA students made this year. The following students were recognized at the end of the Spring 2021 semester for going above and beyond in their studies, as club and organization leaders, and as community citizens. MCLA also offers more than 100 scholarships for qualifying students. We’re proud of each and every MCLA student and are proud to share this list with the world.

Student Affairs Leadership Awards MCLA holds a Student Affairs Leadership Recognition Dinner every April. The following students received awards virtually: SCHOLARSHIPS Diane Collins SGA Scholarship Ian Crombie Emma Marino Heather Fischlein Memorial Resident Advisor Scholarship Annemarie Boyle Outstanding Resident Student Scholarship Jack Vezeris LEADERSHIP AWARDS Advisor of the Year Award Chris Hantman Behind the Scenes Award Reagan Scattergood Club Executive Board Member of the Year Award Noelle Borrelli-Boudreau Club/Organization Excellence Award Black Student Union Community Service Program Coordinator(s) Award DeAnna Wardwell, Shelby Dempsey, Meaghan Murphy

Distinguished Service Award Tarah Valin Crystal Wojcik Leadership Achievement Award Jack Vezeris Brianna Christie Lorraine B. Maloney Spirit of Service Award Kaylea Nocher Multicultural Advancement Award Tarah Valin

Lindsey Rosa Tarah Valin DeAnna Wardwell Shana Wilson Crystal Wojcik Huab Xiong Outstanding Senior Leader Award Shannon Prouty Crystal Wojcik Tarah Valin Meaghan Murphy

FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS Andrew S. Flagg Art Award Ian Mosher Andrew Thomas Francis H. Bissaillon Memorial Drama Award Kaley Norsworthy Harlequin Drama Award Jessica Muniz Vivian Dix Redman Award Elizabeth Rodio

Program of the Year Award BSU Podcast

Academic Department Awards

Wilfred J. and Marion Quintin Music Award Abigail Daggett

Rising Star Award Annalyse Lewis

Specific awards given by MCLA’s academic departments

Student Engagement Change Agent Award Aliza Gonzalas Valdez

BIOLOGY Biology Achievement Award Onasis Soto

HISTORY/POLITICAL SCIENCE/GEOGRAPHY Edmund K. Luddy Memorial Award Reece Racette

Virtual Engagement Program Award QSU

Health Achievement Award Micah Tassone

SENIOR LEADERSHIP AWARDS MCLA’s Senior Who’s Who Brian Adelt Emma Bayle Amanda Beres Julia Boger-Hawkins Arthur Cox Kelli Garrant Dean Little Shon Loftus Meaghan Murphy Alex Pegan Rivera Shannon Prouty Ivy Rodriguez

COMPUTER SCIENCE Computer Science Award/Ada Lovelace Computer Science Outstanding Student Award Zayden Narel Scarlett Smith EDUCATION Raymond C. Sullivan Award Yohannes Lantz ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Environmental Science Award Cassandra Wright

Bob Bence International Studies Scholarship Lauren Combs Ames Samuel Pierce History/ PolSci Award Katelyn Young Maryhope Coffield Miranda Maciejowski Cameron Wagoner Roberto Castillo Molly Moynihan Political Science Research and Methods Award Miranda Maciejowski

Historical Methods and Theory Award Cameron Wagoner Outstanding Student Achievement Award Roberto Castillo Molly Moynihan LANGUAGES, INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES, AND PHILOSOPHY Ellen Schiff French Award Deianara Seamans Anthony Nicastro Spanish/ Italian Language Award Tarah Valin MATHEMATICS Iris Cavazza Lilly Award Jake Harte PSYCHOLOGY Samuel H. Clarke Memorial Award Jack Vezeris Psychology Department Award Jake Daigneault SOCIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND SOCIAL WORK Soc/Anth/Social Work Department Award Julia Boger-Hawkins Thomas & Jean Price Award Ian Crombie Sophie Elser ENGLISH/COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS One of the College’s largest departments, the English/ Communications faculty and staff honor their students annually. Joseph G. Mansfield Memorial Award Audrey Perdue Donald A. Thurston Communications Scholarship Michael O’Brien Audrey Perdue

Ruth P. and Nicholas Boraski Scholarship Anangely Oquendo-Perez Madinson (Corin) Carpenter Ellen J. Bernstein/Gadsby Fund for Journalism Katherine Napier Abby Abrahamson James A. Hardman Scholarship Natalia Giacomozzi

Additional Awards and Scholarships MCLA offers more than 100 awards and scholarships for students who qualify. Academic Achievement Scholarship Haelie Paquette Academic Achievement Transfer Scholarship Joan McAneny Anna Ruth Chase Spurr 1930 Memorial Scholarship Melanie Davis Alumni Scholarship Khyahjah Alexander Ravy Gomes Domenica Gomez Emma Marino Jane P. Avis Memorial Scholarship Nalisha De Castro Melvin Band Scholarship in Mathematics Tyler-Earl George Blue Chip Scholarship Abby Abrahamson Board of Trustees Scholarship Fiona Halloran Mohan Boodram and Robert Morris Endowed Scholarship Onasis Soto

Frederick K. Bressette 1946 Performing Arts Scholarship Caitlyn Falzone Henry J. Bruton Scholarship for Women Hayley Simard Olivia Arsenault Ashley DelRatez Jennifer Donovan Sophie Elser Denise Foss Nicole Haas Brittany Hunter Kathryn Kopetchny Emma Marino Shirley Napravinick-Valer Sarah Nargi Chloe Smith Amanda Terzigni Molly Wojnicki Abigail Morrison Hope Blake

Community Service Scholarship Dylynn Hardee Linda and Stephen Crowe Endowed Scholarship Fund Ashley Pixley Denise C. Richardello ’77 M.Ed. ’81, Hon. D.P.S. ’18 Honors Scholarship Fund Rachel Houghtaling Nicole Lemire Pamela P. Dennis Scholarship Bobita Atkins Philomena J. Dolan Memorial Scholarship Brittany Ellis Edgar Perez Donald R. Dion, Jr. Scholarship Joshua Carter

Gailanne M. Cariddi Memorial Scholarship Sienna Paulsen

Dr. John Moresi Memorial Scholarship Shirley Napravinick-Valer

Charles Jackson Craig Foundation Scholarship Wesley Call Ty Mazzeo Madison (Sidalee) Rinker Kiajah Utley

Ducharme Family Scholarship Emily Kelleher

Michael and Elaine Christopher Scholarship Mailee Daigneault

Fairbank Family Scholarship Rachel Houghtaling Jose Quizphi

Leilani Claire Scholarship Antonio (AJ) Burton Comfort Acheampong Brett Murphy

Isanne and Sanford Fisher Scholarship Zurielene Adams Haley Rode

Class of 1954 Scholarship Sophie Rice

Foster Family Scholarship Corey Jakacky

Class of 1965 Scholarship Kyle Moak

Jenny Rosenberg Fyler 1913 Scholarship Cindy Martinez Adam Zieba

Class of 1966 Scholarship Thomas Wiggins Class of 1986 Scholarship Emma Convery Kayla Ruff

Educator’s Scholarship Samantha Herrington Destiny Lawrence-Foley

Gary F. Kelley Computer Science and Math Scholarship Aaron Brooks Walter Grant Memorial Scholarship Deanna Morrow

Barbra Jayne Haddad Memorial Scholarship Dinah Jean Iris Navom Avaz Hajizadeh Scholarship Fund for Overall Excellence Jeremiah Figueroa Mary Ellen Harding Memorial Scholarship Alison Blakeslee Pablo Calderon Brianna Christie Alexander Holcomb Margaret A. Hart Scholarship Arianna Evans Mariana Melo John M. C. Hess Scholarship Roman Robledo Honors Program Scholarship Fund Liza Marsala Molly Wojnicki Audrey Perdue Lola and Edwin Jaffe Arts Management Scholarship Ian Crombie Lydia (Brennan) Eckman Tiffany Ferreira Odiase Williamson

Timothy Jay Psychology Ambassador Fund Emma Marino Evelyn Hampel Jorge 1944 Scholarship Tessa Langsdale Madinson (Corin) Carpenter Sophie Elser Justina Pardi Hailey Perkins Alyssa Porter Mackenzie Viola Jane Kerr Kahlert 1922 Scholarship Maia Rice Casey Young Jaela Horton Margaret, Frances, Nellie Karrey Scholarship Apollo Gillette Yvonne Leonesio Memorial Scholarship Paul Roeder James L. May, Ph.D. Memorial Endowment Fund Timothy Duncan

MCLA Scholarships Anissa Baptiste Annalyse Lewis Payton Pearsall Chelmose Senat Aaliyah Weinheimer Nancy Wright Scalise Cozzaglio Scholarship Riana Gittens NASC Scholarship Fund Samuel Larabee Paula Nickerson Plock Scholarship Caitlin Briell Alexander Lytle Lee Hamilton Ransford Memorial Scholarship Alison Blakeslee Bernard (Bud) E. Riley Accounting Scholarship Paolo Kareh Bernard (Bud) E. Riley Business Major Scholarship Karen Horton Reece Racette Bernard (Bud) E. Riley MBA Scholarship Julia Marko

Kathleen M. Shea Memorial Scholarship Jacob Sawyer Michael Silsby 1976 Scholarship Kara Paquin Norma Lorell Starr Memorial Scholarship Paige Gassaway Ida Maino Trabold 1936 Scholarship Fund Mackenzie Viola Visual Arts Scholarship Eloise Baker Delano Mills Mitchell L. West Opportunity Scholarship Brianna Christie Don Westall 1969 Memorial Scholarship Samuel Berthel Georgia Dedolph Sajaira Husdon

29 WHO SHINE MCLA CHOOSES SHELBY DEMPSEY ’21 AS AWARD RECIPIENT Shelby Dempsey ’21 was chosen as MCLA’s recipient of the Commonwealth’s 29 Who Shine award, which recognizes 29 outstanding graduates from the state higher education system. Governor Charlie Baker recognized Dempsey and 28 other students during a virtual ceremony on May 13 held by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE). Dempsey, a history major from Weymouth, Mass., who plans to pursue a career in publishing, is a committed and active campus leader at MCLA who has tackled the issue of student food insecurity over the past several years. Working collaboratively with the staff of MCLA’s Office of Civic and Community Engagement and her fellow classmates, Shelby helped lead the effort to maintain student access to MCLA’s Food Pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Read more on page 12)

MCLA President James F. Birge. “Shelby exemplifies the kind of community spirit we hope to encourage at MCLA, and her work helped many members of our community with access to food and other resources at an extremely important time. She is an exceptional student leader.”

“Her work provided critical support for her fellow students to allow them to continue their studies despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said MCLA Dean of Academic Affairs Ely Janis. “I’ve witnessed Shelby’s efforts to help her peers for years, and I’m proud that she is MCLA’s 2021 29 Who Shine award recipient,” said

The 29 Who Shine awards program was launched by the DHE in 2011 to recognize and honor graduates from Massachusetts community colleges, state universities, or University of Massachusetts campuses. Students are nominated by a faculty or staff member or by a university awards committee and must show exceptional promise as a future leader in civic affairs or in business or professional activity in Massachusetts, having already demonstrated an ability to contribute to the civic and economic well-being of the Commonwealth.

HER WORK PROVIDED CRITICAL SUPPORT FOR HER FELLOW STUDENTS TO ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES DESPITE THE CHALLENGES CREATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.” — ELY JANIS, DEAN OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

2 0 FACULTY -21 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Business Administration & Economics Department The Department has reached the final stage in its pursuit of ACBSP Accreditation — the self-study. It anticipates a campus visit during the fall semester from the accrediting authority and accreditation by the end of 2021.

Education Dr. Lisa Arrastia, assistant professor of education Dr. Arrastia was awarded a spring 2021 MCLA IAH Fellowship and a 2021 Faculty Incentive Award. She launched an MCLA satellite of the Ed Factory’s Young People’s Archive Student Listening Intern Collective (SLIC). Members of SLIC use audioethnography, a humanities-based qualitative research methodology designed by Arrastia, to transform the educational process and disrupt notions of difference. MCLA’s SLIC is helping to facilitate Pre-K-8 workshops for teachers at Keys School and build an Ed Factory Teachers’ Institute and Young People’s Archive for Keys and the Silicon Valley, where the school is located. This summer at Keys, Dr. Arrastia launched the Ed Factory’s Laboratory for Integrative Arts. LIA is a supra-disciplinary humanities hub using aesthetics-based education to work at the intersection of the arts, social

theory, and pedagogies of culture. Dr. Arrastia also signed with Neurodiversity Press. For the annual 2021 North Dakota Study Group, Dr. Arrastia presented her County of One, an Ed Factory Pocket Film on racial dissonance in teacher observations. Dr. Arrastia also joined the global steering committee of Inspiring Girls Expedition, which empowers young women through science, art, and wilderness exploration, and she has been working on the launch of a $3.6 million capital campaign along the Hudson River for Kite’s Nest, a liberatory education center of which she is board president. Partnering with the Dean of Graduate Studies of Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Arrastia will help to design a program to increase Black and Indigenous students in Canadian doctoral programs, and she is a member of our local NAACP’s Innovation School Committee and the Advisory Committee for the Creative Compact for Collective and Collaborative Impact.

Dr. Margaret Clark, assistant professor of education This year, Dr. Clark co-authored an essay with Dr. Sarah Hart titled “Walking Lightly: Teaching and Learning in a New World” for the journal Empathetic Educators: Interdisciplinary Narratives. Dr. Clark also coauthored a chapter, with Dr.

Rebecca Buchanan, for the forthcoming book Exploring Professional Development Opportunities for Teacher Educators: Promoting FacultyStudent Partnerships, edited by Leah Shagrir and Smadar BarTal. In addition, she presented two papers at national education conferences focused on the intersection between critical literacy, reflective practice, and a pedagogy of transformative care.

Environmental Studies Dr. Daniel Shustack, professor Dr. Shustack presented his research, “Using the USGS Bird Banding Lab Database to Assess Dispersal in Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis),” at the quadrennial international North American Ornithological Conference in August 2020, and “Birding Banding Records Demonstrate That Some Northern Cardinals Disperse Long Distances” at the October 2020 annual meeting of The Wildlife Society. Also presenting at these meetings were student collaborators Hannah Wait and Noah Henkenius, presenting their research on migratory connectivity and avian ectoparasites. Dr. Shustack and his co-authors published their species account on the “Northern Cardinal” in February 2021 as part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World research database.

Dr. Elena Traister, department chair, professor of environmental studies, campus sustainability coordinator Dr. Traister, in her capacity as coordinator of campus sustainability, and Renee Royal, the production manager for MCLA dining services, were invited speakers for the fall 2020 WasteWise Forum hosted by RecyclingWorks Massachusetts. They spoke about the practices MCLA has put in place to reduce waste on campus, including food waste reduction, E-waste, and singlestream recycling. Dr. Traister and Royal were also joined by Dianne Manning, director of MCLA residential programs and services, and Tony Fiorentino, head chef of MCLA dining, for their presentation “CommunityEngaged Learning Opportunities with Campus Sustainability Programs of all Sizes” at the Campuses for Environmental Stewardship 2021 Summit, hosted by the Campus Compact. They are also scheduled to present at the 2021 COPLAC Annual Meeting.

English and Communications Dr. Caren Beilin, assistant professor, English and communications Dr. Beilin’s fourth book, Revenge of the Scapegoat (a novel), will be published by the feminist press Dorothy in Spring 2022.

Dr. Beilin’s short fiction appears in the winter issue of the literary magazine Fence. Upcoming features on her work as an author will be in Art in America and on the popular books podcast Between the Covers. She is a presenter on the panel “Writing Illness: The Pandemic & Beyond” at the 2021 Literary Cleveland Inkubator conference and will be a visiting writer at the University of Mary Washington in the fall of 2021.

Photo courtesy of The Beacon

Dr. Jenna Sciuto, associate professor Dr. Sciuto’s first book, Policing Intimacy: Law, Sexuality, and the Color Line in TwentiethCentury Hemispheric American Literature, was published in May 2021 by the University Press of Mississippi. Sciuto, who is a founding co-director of the Nordic Faulkner Studies Network, presented research connecting William Faulkner to Icelandic writers through the lens of colonial liminality and Whiteness studies at two international online symposiums organized in France and the UK. Dr. Sciuto chaired the roundtable “Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies: Social Justice & Community Engagement in the Classroom” at the Northeast Modern Language Association Convention. She has been named an AmericanScandinavian Foundation Fellow for 2021-2022.

Fine and Performing Arts Dr. Michael R. Dilthey, professor of music Dr. Dilthey’s most recent music compositions include “Each and Every Day in December,” a Christmas song performed by Broadway star Lauren Zakrin

and included in “New Sounds of the Season,” produced by NextStage; “See with the Eyes of God,” performed by Carin DeMayo-Wall on YouTube, with MCLA instructors Jamie Choquette and Patrick O’Connell, and MCLA alum Emmanuel Reyes; “Death is Nothing at All,” performed by MCLA instructors Erin Casey and Paul LaRosa on YouTube; and “Do Come to Vienna,” performed by Erin Casey and MCLA student Garrett Derosia on YouTube. In his role as artistic director of Greylock Opera Collective, Dr. Dilthey received two grants, from Assets for Artists and the Northern Berkshire Cultural Council, for recording and performing. The Collective completed two recording sessions this year, at the Church Street Center auditorium, and will produce a new musical on February 4, 2022.

Dr. Lisa Donovan, professor, arts management; director, MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities; co-director, Berkshire Regional Arts Integration Network, and director of the Creative Compact for Collective Impact initiative Dr. Donovan facilitated the national webinar “Rural Arts Education Webinar: Finding Your Own Yellow Brick Road in Challenging Times – A National Dialogue,” and was invited to be a keynote speaker for the second networking conference of the program “Cultural Education in Rural Areas” (funded by the German

Federal Ministry of Education and Research). Both opportunities grew out of Dr. Donovan’s research on rural arts education. Dr. Donovan has also been asked to speak to the Creative Youth Development Network at MA Cultural Council about creating networks. In addition, Donovan launched her new book, Teacher as Curator: Formative Assessment and Arts-based, in a webinar featured by Teachers College Press. Her work was also featured last summer by Berkshire Magazine. This summer, Donovan and her team at the MCLA Institute for the Arts and Humanities, collaborated with BRIDGE, The Mastheads, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council to launch a four-part symposium exploring the role of arts and humanities in equitycentered change. MCLA IAH is funded by a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and provides yearround programming to catalyze opportunities for interdisciplinary engagements, and advance experiential teaching and learning practices, engaging with faculty, staff, students, and community partners. Donovan’s work with the Creative Compact for Collective Impact created a dual enrollment opportunity for high school seniors who partnered with MCLA students in a course called The Art of Podcasting. Developed and hosted by students from both MCLA and regional high schools, the podcast illustrates the links that exist between creativity and contemporary workforce skills and will be featured on the Brainworks website (Berkshire Regional Arts Integration Network). Donovan also released a monograph detailing the work of BRAINworks over the past four years of a national Department of Education and Innovation grant.

Photo courtesy of The Beacon

Dr. Tony Gengarelly, professor emeritus of fine arts, director of The Jessica Park Project at MCLA Dr. Gengarelly published the book Art on The Spectrum: A Guide for Mentoring and Marketing Artists with ASD with Dr. Michael McManmon. Dr. Gengarelly also earned the Faculty Fellowship Award from the MCLA Institute for Arts and Humanities, with the primary goal of creating an Outsider Art curriculum supporting issues of neurodiversity, as well as the broader issues associated with autism, and general Outsider Art issues. The resulting curriculum can be used by teachers to customize the curriculum for their courses, and by students to support their own research, investigations and activities. Once refined, the curriculum will be shared with the larger public school and higher education arena.

Gregory Scheckler, professor of art Scheckler’s artworks appeared in the exhibit “Vermont Utopias: Imagining the Future,” at the Bennington Museum. The show debuted Scheckler’s “pseudocomics” style of art. Compared to many contemporary graphic novels, the drawing style is much more gestural, and the storytelling provides a set of puzzle pieces that can be assembled by the viewer into a story-like sequence. Mixed within the show’s theme of a reimagined future Vermont, Scheckler’s drawings were full

of science-fiction references: hints of Godzilla monster movies, films like Silent Running, and old-fashioned bubble vehicles, robots, and space elevators.

Diane Scott, associate professor of arts management; chair, Department of Fine and Performing Arts During the past year, Scott developed and administered three COVID-19 Arts Impact Surveys on behalf of MidAmerica Arts Alliance (M-AAA). Information from the first two surveys were featured in articles in The New York Times and Hyperallergic. Scott also conducted a webinar for M-AAA entitled “Artist INC Cares: What We Know Today,” covering artist-specific information on accessing benefits from the CARES Act.

Modern American Society and Culture Seminar. She was also invited by the Civil War Study Group of Youngstown State University, Ohio, to present on a related project, “Clinging to a Discredited Institution: Compensated Emancipation in Kentucky Civil War Memory.”

Dr. Samantha Pettey, assistant professor of political science Dr. Pettey published two papers for the London School of Economics American Politics and Policy Blog. The first, “Why 2020 is Likely to See a Record Number of Women Elected to the US House,” is part of the series “Primary Primers.” The second is a follow-up of the 2020 election, titled “In 2020, Women Continued to Make Strides in Representation in Congress and the State Legislatures,” and examines women’s record numbers in the 117th Congress and across the state legislatures for the series “What Happened?”

History and Political Science Dr. Amanda Laury Kleintop, assistant professor In 2020, Dr. Kleintop won a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend and Faculty Incentive Grant for Research from MCLA to complete research on her manuscript-in-progress, titled The Balance of Freedom: Abolishing Property Rights in Humans in the US Civil War and American Memory. In the fall of 2020, she was invited to present a chapter of the book, “Writing Uncompensated Emancipation into the Lost Cause,” at the Massachusetts Historical Society Malgeri

Math Dr. Elizabeth Hartung, associate professor of mathematics Dr. Hartung published two papers, “Resonance Structures and Aromaticity in Capped Carbon Nanotubes” in the journal Carbon and “Combinatorial Generation of Permutation Languages I. Fundamentals” in the journal Transactions of the American Mathematical Society. Dr.

Hartung also co-organized a mini-symposium on Chemical Graph Theory for the 2021 CanaDAM (Canadian Discrete and Algorithmic Mathematics) Conference, and was a speaker in this mini-symposium. Studies, Agency, Citizenry, and Fantasy”; “The Boy Who Lives: Agentic Locations of Friendship Identity, Peer Culture, and Interpretive Reproduction in Harry Potter”; and coauthored “Being Scared in the Dark: Paradoxes, Perils, Philosophy and the Promise of Fantasy Dr. Paul Nnodim, professor for Urban Girls of Color.” She Dr. Nnodim published the book also published the chapter Beyond Justice as Fairness “Monstrosity, Ethic of Care, (Lexington Books/Rowman and Moral Agency in Stephen & Littlefield) and the article King’s Firestarter” in Children “Justice as Fairness and Ubuntu: and Childhood in the Works Conceptualizing Justice through of Stephen King (Lexington Human Dignity” in Ethical Books, 2020). Perspectives. Dr. Nnodim’s book Ubuntu: A Comparative Study Dr. Castro’s project “Holistic of an African Concept of Justice Messages of Girls’ Belonging will be published by Leuven in Notable Illustrative Latinx University Press in 2022. Children’s Books” was accepted to the Child and Teen Consumption Conference in Camden, N.J. (cancelled due to COVID). She was the Discussant for the paper session “Cultural Capital, Equity, and Inequality” for the American Sociological Association’s Annual Meeting. Physics She also presented twice for MCLA’s Mind’s Eye on Dr. Paul Amy, adjunct publishing books and the assistant professor ethic of care and witches. Dr. Dr. Amy co-authored a paper, Castro Chaired the Committee “Mapping Milky Way Halo for the Distinguished Early Substructure using Stars in Career Award and was a the Extended Blue Tail of the Horizontal Branch,” published member of the Nominations by The Astrophysical Journal. Committee for the American Sociological Association’s Section on Children and Youth, Sociology, and was a member of the Anthropology, Eastern Sociological Society’s and Social Work Charles V. Willie Minority Graduate Student Award Dr. Ingrid E. Castro, professor of sociology, department chair Committee. At the close of 2020, Dr. Castro was elected Dr. Castro published to a three-year post on the Childhood, Agency, and Eastern Sociological Society’s Fantasy: Walking in Other Executive Committee. Worlds (Lexington Books, 2020) and contributed three chapters to the book: “Where Do We Belong? Childhood

MCLA Executive Leadership

2020-2021 Alumni Association Board of Directors

2020-2021 MCLA Foundation Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

OFFICERS

Bernadette Alden

Dennis Ducharme ’82, PRESIDENT

Julie Arnold ’94, CHAIR

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Kaite Bonneville Rosa ’10, VICE PRESIDENT

Jason Dohaney ’04, VICE CHAIR

Curt Cellana

Michelle Hansen ’08, FOUNDATION

Billie Jo Sawyer, TREASURER

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF FISCAL AFFAIRS

BOARD REPRESENTATIVE

Amy Smith ’96, CLERK

James F. Birge, Ph.D.

Barbara T. Chaput EXECUTIVE DRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES/ PAYROLL OFFICE

Catherine B. Holbrook, Ph.D.

Robert Ziomek ’89, PRESIDENT DIRECTORS

Marc Morandi ’90, VICE PRESIDENT

Ama Bemma Adwetewa-Badu ’15 Erin Baffuto ’05

DIRECTORS

Jacob Boillat ’18

Michael Avis ’91

Buffy Lord ’98

Mike Barbieri ’95

Todd Foy ’12

Anthony Barbosa ’15

Lizz Furtado ’91

Tara Barboza, MBA ’12

Zach Gundler 11, MBA ’18

Gina Puc ’07

Kimberly Boyden- Briones ’89

Carla Holness ’95

VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Timothy Cherubini

Osakpolo Igiede ’15

Dr. Jean Clarke-Mitchell ’00

Adrienne Wootters, Ph.D.

Glenn Lawson ’77

Anthony Dolan ’84

INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Kevin McGrath ’93

Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed

Robert P. Ziomek ’89

Devan Monroe ’13

JamieEllen Moncecchi

Jonathan Monroy ’13

Mary Nash

Alexandre Mukendi ’13

Charles O’Brien

Sarah Murphy ’15

Denise Richardello ’77, M.Ed. ’81, Hon. D.P.S. ’18

Michael Obasohan ’11

Michelle Hansen ’08 ALUMNI REP

Kimberly Roberts-Morandi ’91, ’01, M.Ed. ’00

Denise Marshall ’81, MCLA TRUSTEE REP

VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

Lisa Lescarbeau EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

Christopher MacDonald-Dennis, Ph.D. CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER

VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

2020-2021 MCLA Board of Trustees

Amina Wilson

Mohan Boodram, CHAIR Brenda Burdick, VICE CHAIR John Barrett III ’69 Jondavid (JD) Chesloff Susan Gold Frederick J. Keator Karen Kowalcyzk Denise Marshall ’81 Robert Reilly, Ed.D. Kathleen Therrien ’97 STUDENT TRUSTEE: Justin Daniels ’22

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 375 CHURCH STREET, NORTH ADAMS, MA 01247 (413) 662-5000

MCLA.EDU