Contact information: 413/775-1420
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Contact: Robert Pura
Phone: 413/775-1410
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Media contact: Liz Carroll
Marketing & Publications
413/775-1420 | carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Release date: April 25, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April Board of Trustees meeting

GCC: New report on public higher education fuels drive to lobby Senate during ‘90-day window' of opportunity

Also: Trustees applaud GCC/MCLA collaboration, express continuing support for 2002 collective bargaining agreement, and announce appointment of new trustee

At a meeting of the Greenfield Community College governing board, trustees voted to lobby the Massachusetts House of Representatives as one voice representing all of public higher education in an effort to turn around a five-year trend of drastic cutbacks that have decimated the operating budgets of GCC and other community and state colleges.

In his report to the trustees, GCC President Robert L. Pura presented the results of a recently released Senate Task Force Report on Higher Education called "Investing in our Future: Affordability, Quality and Jobs.” The task force was co-chaired by Senators Stan Rosenberg and Steven Panagiotakos. Their report, said Pura, documents that Massachusetts now ranks 47th in the nation in per capital funding for higher education; Massachusetts spends more on its prisons and jail than it does educating its students in public colleges and university, and spent the same amount of money on public higher education in current dollars in 2004 as it spent in 1974.

"As a statement of values,” said Pura, "this document is a significant one, almost historic, in that it does in fact get the support of the community college presidents, and other state, university presidents and their Trustees.”

Pura called on the board to cite the conclusions of the task force report in a letter to the Governor as part of a concerted lobbying effort over the next 90 days.

"I ask that we all pay close attention to this 90-day window,” urged Pura. "The Senate conversation around the budget is happening as we speak. The House numbers and the Senate numbers will all come together within this period of time. The House did not support public higher education to the extent anticipated. We have 90 days to collectively voice our thinking around this document, which calls for full funding of public higher education over six years, rather than the 10 or 12 that others in Boston have proposed. This will get public higher education back into a position to do all of the good work it can do, given the appropriate resources.”

In other business, President Pura reported on the successful launch of an educational collaboration between GCC and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to offer a baccalaureate degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus in English and psychology, plus teacher licensure in elementary education, on the GCC campus. Pura thanked David Ram, Kate Douglas, Larry Dean, Kate Finnegan and Kathy Maisto for their instrumental roles in this effort. "They did a lot of work to ensure that the program got off the ground with a great sense of commitment to both access and high academic excellence,” said Pura.

Larry Dean, who helped launch the idea, said, "This effort provides an opportunity that our students have long wanted, which is to earn their baccalaureate degree here at GCC.”

Pura also voiced his support on behalf of GCC faculty and staff in the ongoing battle with Governor Romney to sign their 2002 collective bargaining agreement. "It is unfortunate that I have to continue to report that the state does not live up to its obligations to honor its commitment to our faculty and our staff,” said Pura.

Kit Carpenter, president of the GCC Professional Association, told trustees, "It's not much money, but it matters a lot. We've had no contract since 2002. We appreciate the support on this campus from President Pura and this board.”

Pura asked the board to support the efforts to ratify the collective bargaining agreement with a letter to the Governor, a request to which the board agreed.

Finally, it was announced that the President's office received on Friday a confirmation from the governor that Barbara J. Wallace, Senior Vice President of The Bank of Western Massachusetts, has been appointed by Governor Mitt Romney to serve as a trustee of Greenfield Community College.

For more information, please call the president's office at (413) 775-1410.