On Monday, after 50 years of achievement and contention, the commonwealth's first and oldest community college kicked off what will be a yearlong celebration of its golden anniversary in public higher education.
And it all started right here, in Berkshire County's backyard.
"This is only the beginning of a much greater story to be told," college President Paul Raverta said during Monday's 50th anniversary ceremony. BCC Trustee Peter Larkin emceed the event.
Nearly 200 local and state dignitaries, faculty, staff and students, both current and alumni, as well as state Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland were on hand for the event, which was celebrated inside the Robert M. Boland Theater and just outside the Koussevitzky Arts Center of BCC's main campus on West Street.
"I think it's interesting that the first community college in Massachusetts is in the westernmost part of the state, not in Boston," said Cathryn Addy, who served as BCC president from 1987 to 1993. "I think it speaks something to the kind of commitment this place has to education."
Much of that had to do with former state Rep. Thomas Wojtkowski, of Pittsfield, who began lobbying for a state junior college system in the mid-1950s.
In March 1958, a report by the state Commission on Audit of State
After a slight weather delay due to Hurricane Donna, Berkshire Community College was formally opened in the old Pittsfield High School building on the Pittsfield Common on the morning of Sept. 15, 1960. The college moved to its current site on West Street in 1972.
Since its inception, the BCC has experienced growth, from the first 150 students to the more than 2,400 taking at least one class there this fall. Between full- and part-time positions, the college today has about 350 employees.
The college has always changed with the times, the community, business, politics and economy.
During its existence, Berkshire Community College has dealt with faculty tensions, the threat of consolidation, struggling learners, budget cuts and aging buildings.
Today, things aren't much different. But instead of being asked to consolidate, society demands that the college expand.
"It has an amazing effect on the community," said student government ambassador Alicia Sicotte, of Pittsfield. "It's the school down the street that makes it easy to get here."
Ethan Dyer, of Otis, another SGA member said, "If it wasn't for this school, I probably wouldn't be going to school now."
During Monday's ceremony, Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto called BCC the "school of first chances, second chances, third chances and fourth chances," which provides "both remedial programs and programs of excellence."
In the past year, the college has introduced new technology, renovated infrastructure and new work force development initiatives.
But with this year's enrollment jumping 16 percent since last year, and a constricting state budget, Berkshire Community College, along with every other state school, will have to do more with less.
"The road ahead is hard," said state community college advocate Thomas Wojtkowski. "The most important thing is to remain flexible."
Former BCC President Jonathan Daube (1978-1987) agreed, "You just have to continue to be innovative and remember to serve the community."
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