In an interview with The Eagle earlier this week, college President Mary K. Grant said as odd as the anniversary may seem -- it's not a 50th or a 100th, the institution has good reason to commemorate its 115th.
Over the five years since its last big anniversary fête, MCLA has seen an exponential increase in student enrollment, the completion of an award-winning multimillion-dollar residence hall renovation and an expansion of academic and enrichment programming for students, despite a substantial drop in state funding.
"It's a great opportunity every so often to pull together with your supporters and pause for reflection, and, also to look to the future," Grant said.
This academic year, MCLA saw a 15 percent increase in student enrollment from the previous year, for a total of about 2,000 students. But this figure isn't a first. In fact, the number echoes what the student population used to be.
"It's just about the same size as when I arrived to the college in 1973," Steve Green said. The former vice president of academic affairs at the college retired after the 2008-09 school year.
Grant, a 1983 graduate of the college (then called North Adams State), agreed. "Back when I was a student on campus, there were about 2,300 students and fewer buildings,"
To better attract and accommodate students, the college completed renovations on the 36-year-old Berkshire Towers dormitory in the spring. The $4 million redesign by Amherst-based Kuhn Riddle Architects was so successful that it recently garnered the Public Architecture Honor Award from the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Architectural Access Board and the Boston Society of Architects.
In looking ahead, Grant said the college will continue to utilize and update its long-term strategic plan. The college president listed student and quality personnel retention, technology, campus space, and diversity of classes as focal points in moving forward.
"In recent years, we've attracted a number of highest quality students, meaning MCLA has had more students coming in from the top 10 percent of their high school classes," Green said.
"We need to give students what they need in order to be competitive in the 21st century," said Grant.
The biggest challenge, according to the college president, will be resources.
"The state has not fully funded public higher education the way it should be," said Grant. MCLA recently took a nearly 8 percent budget cut in state funding reductions.
Senior Kaitlyn Bonneville, a journalism/public relations/creative writing major from Chicopee, said students' main concern is college affordability.
"How we are going to afford college is what we're always talking about," the student government representative said.
Grant hopes tonight's 115th anniversary celebration will help. The $150-a-plate dinner also features a performance by Broadway starlet Donna McKechnie. Admission, which ranges from $15 for college personnel to $1,200 for a VIP package, benefits student scholarship funds at the college.
"Though funding is important and we sure love to have it, not everything takes money," said Grant.
"MCLA really presented me so many opportunities," said Bonneville. She said students have been particularly excited about new academic programs, an increase in student activities, and a $50 million plan to construct the MCLA Center for Science and Innovation.
"Over my year and a half here, I've realized it's the people here that make it feel less like a campus and more like a big house with a big family," said sophomore Hawa Umarova of Chelsea, via Chechnya.
Her classmate Todd Foy, of Hadley, who registered to vote in North Adams, said continuing to keep students in touch with community will remain important in the future. "The college does have an impact here," he said.
Kate Collins, a junior, said momentum is the key. "It's about keeping one step ahead like we have been."
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