MWCC's weekly e-newsletter

Friday, March 10, 2006

MWCC TOWER TO GAUGE WIND SPEEDS

By Kimberly B. Caisse

College facility crew members, with the technical assistance of the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Resource Lab team, spent five hours Tuesday, March 7 erecting a wind metering tower to clock wind speeds at its main campus for the next six to 12 months.

	MWCC's Joe Toile and UMass' Gabriel Ceriotti help erect the wind metering tower.

Data collected from the metering system, which was funded by a $10,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, will determine the feasibility of installing wind turbines on the campus as part of MWCC’s renewable energy initiative.

MWCC plans to make the wind data available to students in its natural resources and renewable energy programs as well as to the public. The project’s Second Wind software creates charts, which will be accessible via a website. This component of the project is expected to be ready by the end of March.

“I envision MWCC becoming an alternative energy laboratory for our students,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “The research component of this project is another way we can provide that opportunity.”

The presence of the UMass engineering team, which specializes in wind technology research, was supported by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Westboro.

“Most of our work in putting up these towers focuses on answering the question: Is there wind?” said Tony Ellis, a research fellow at the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Resource Lab.

In addition to the wind metering system, also produced by Second Wind Inc. of Somerville, MWCC will be installing soon a pre-commercial woodchip burner that will generate electricity as well as heat. This project is being done in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy, which wants to test the commercial viability of such a system.

The college also plans to expand its use of solar panels on the roof of the Gardner campus.

MWCC’s alternative energy initiative began four years ago with the construction of a biomass plant, which converted the Gardner campus from an all-energy heated facility to a campus predominantly heated by burning woodchips.

To date, the college has received $3 million in federal support for the two biomass projects and a future wind-energy demonstration project. It received the 2005 University Environmental Purchasing and Sustainability Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in October for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 19 percent.

MWCC STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR NEW JACK KENT COOKE FOUNDATION INITIATIVE AIMED AT LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

MWCC is one of more than 50 community colleges around the country and six in Massachusetts that will develop transfer programs for a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation initiative aimed at increasing the number of high-achieving, low-income community college students who earn bachelor’s degrees from selective four-year institutions.

The foundation is partnering with eight renowned colleges and universities—Amherst College, Bucknell University, Cornell University, Mount Holyoke College, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California—to invest $27 million in this initiative. It is the largest shared investment to date by leading colleges and universities to overcome the lack of opportunities low-income students have at such schools.

MWCC is a supporter of the Amherst College program.

Through the investment, the foundation, three public universities and five private colleges and universities will build model programs that enable academically qualified low- to moderate-income community college students to transfer to selective schools in unprecedented numbers.

The partnership responds to several trends impacting higher education’s efforts to provide opportunities for outstanding students, regardless of socioeconomic status, to earn a four-year degree:

• Community colleges enroll 6.5 million students (45 percent of all undergraduates), including the majority of low- to moderate-income students.
• Selective four-year institutions typically focus recruitment and financial aid on high school graduates, including scholarship and tuition remission programs for students from low-income families recently introduced at Harvard, Yale, the University of Virginia, and other institutions.
• Only 10 percent of students at the top 146 highly selective colleges come from the bottom half of the socioeconomic status scale.
• Only 7 percent of young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds earn college degrees by age 26.
• Research commissioned by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation shows that more than one-third of community college transfer students graduated in the top two quartiles of their high school graduating classes.
• The more selective the institution, the more likely a student enrolled there is to graduate with a four-year degree, particularly if the student comes from a low socioeconomic background.

To establish the initiative, the foundation is awarding grants totaling $6.78 million to the eight partner institutions, and the recipients are in turn committing $20.5 million in financial aid and other resources to expand or develop community college transfer programs that reach out to and support transfer students. The eight institutions aim to develop on their campuses a set of programs and practices that can greatly expand opportunities for low-income students to earn four-year degrees. As part of the initiative, they will aggressively recruit, admit and offer scholarships to the best community college students and participate in an evaluation of their efforts, the conclusions of which will be shared with higher education nationally.

Through these programs over the next four years, the eight recipients combined expect to enroll 1,100 new community college transfer students from low- to moderate-income backgrounds and provide another 2,100 with college access information and instructional services. The institutions will also partner with more than 50 community colleges as they build and develop their transfer programs.

The foundation chose the eight institutions participating in the initiative following a national call for proposals to America’s 127 most selective colleges and universities. Forty-eight institutions submitted proposals. The eight grant recipients will pursue several goals, including:

• Reaching out to populations currently underrepresented in selective colleges.
• Enrolling a combined 1,100 additional low- to middle-income community college transfers over the next four years, beginning in fall 2007.
• Developing transfer programs for high-achieving, low- to moderate-income community college students that serve as models for other selective institutions to replicate.
• Participating in a five-year study funded by the foundation that evaluates the effectiveness of the programs and provides information and ideas to be shared nationally.
• Building strong collaborations with their partner community colleges.
• Committing to sustaining the program after the grant period.

MWCC students also are eligible to apply annually for the Undergraduate Transfer Jack Kent Cooke Scholars scholarships, which award up to $30,000 a year for two years to selected community college students transferring to a four-year institution.

Students listen to the international music of Mutlu while they eat lunch during community time. Mutlu played everything from pop Turkish songs to Van Morrison tunes on Wednesday, March 8.

Other MWCC News:

• Through Sunday, March 12, an exhibit of works by painter Kathleen Lovenbury of Royalston will be on display in the East Wing Gallery of the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center at MWCC’s Gardner campus. For more information, contact Professor John Pacheco at (978) 630-9184.

• The Institute for Nonprofit Development at MWCC will host a skill-building workshop entitled “Getting a Grip on Technology” on Tuesday, March 14 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at MWCC’s Gardner campus. Summit Collaborative, nationally recognized “gurus” in technology planning for nonprofits, will lead the workshop. This is a technology strategy workshop meant for nonprofit executives, program staff and others in the organization responsible for constituent relations and communications. The cost is only $50 for institute members and $75 for non-members (includes breakfast). If you register more than one person from your organization, you will receive a 20 percent discount on each additional registration. To register, contact Andrea Hart at (978) 840-3221 ext. 197 or ahart@mwcc.mass.edu.

• The First Connections Mothers Group’s weekly meetings are held Fridays in the Children’s Room at Levi Heywood Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon. All mothers and their babies are invited. At the gatherings, attendees discuss topics such as feeding, sibling rivalry, temper tantrums, appropriate toys, traveling with children and how to choose a daycare provider. For more information, contact MWCC Professor Nancy Duphily, the meeting facilitator, at nduphily@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9233. Duphily will be assisted by MWCC nursing students as part of their service-learning project.

• The new SAT Reasoning Test will be administered for those in the class of 2006 and beyond. It will contain new content and new types of questions in writing, math and critical reasoning. On the Saturdays of March 11, 18 and 25 from 8 a.m. to noon, MWCC will offer preparatory classes covering math and English for the April 1 SAT exam. The cost of $120 includes the required book. For a registration form or more information, contact MWCC’s Division of Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development at (978) 630-9124 or lll@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Register now for the next four-week session of Preschool Yoga, which begins Monday, March 13 from 1 to 1:30 p.m., at the Fitness & Wellness Center at MWCC. Preschool children, ages 3 to 6, learn the power of movement and breath through music, games and simple yoga positions. Yoga games can help children balance and manage their emotions and to understand the emotions of others. The cost is only $20 with a family membership or $28 for non-members. Space is limited. Call (978) 630-9212 for more information.

• Alice LeBlanc, assistant director of the Healthcare Pathway Program, is selling calendars, priced at $5 each, with 30 chances to win a donated home-baked or other gift item. All proceeds will go toward the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, a network of health clinics recovering from Hurricane Katrina. For more information, contact LeBlanc at (978) 630-9220 or aleblanc@mwcc.mass.edu.

• The Institute for Nonprofit Development at MWCC announces that applications for its second round of capacity building mini-grants are due Friday, April 28. The mini-grants aim to support activities that will lead to long-term organizational health by improving an organization’s effectiveness. Only INPD members that hold 501(c)(3) status are eligible for the awards. Up to seven grants—each between $1,000 and $3,000—will be awarded. Details and application guidelines are available at http://inpd.mwcc.edu. There will be an informational workshop Monday, March 20 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at MWCC’s Gardner campus. To register, contact Andrea Hart at (978) 840-3221, ext. 197 or ahart@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Professor Martha Ackmann of Mount Holyoke College will visit MWCC Thursday, March 23 to speak about her book “The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight.” Her talk is sponsored by the college's Division of Mathematics, Science and Technology and is held in recognition of National Women's History Month. She will make two presentations, one at 9:40 a.m. and one at 11:20 a.m., in Room 127. For more information, contact Heidi McCann at (978) 630-9255 or hmccann@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Area residents, including MWCC students and alumni, interested in a career in health care are invited to the second annual Health Care Job Fair at MWCC Monday, March 27 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the college’s Gardner campus. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring copies of their resumes. For more information, contact MWCC’s Healthcare Pathways Program Director Robin Duncan at rduncan@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 840-3221, ext. 199.

• MWCC students and alumni are also invited to the 2006 Job Fair Wednesday, March 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. sponsored by the college’s Career Placement Office. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring copies of their resumes. For more information, contact Career Development Counselor Patricia Brewerton at (978) 630-9254 or pbrewerton@mwcc.mass.edu.

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