Medford Reps Visit Local Colleges

| October 31, 2011 | School Notebook, State House News | No Comments

Public Higher Education Caucus hosting campus visits

Earlier this week, Representative Paul J. Donato (D-Medford, Malden) joined several colleagues and the Public Higher Education Caucus in making visits to several public higher education campuses across the Commonwealth. Many Massachusetts legislators will be visiting campuses across the state to meet with administrators, faculty members, and students as part of a project to raise awareness of and appreciation for public higher education. The project, organized by the state legislature’s Public Higher Education Caucus, will see state senators and representatives traveling to one of the Commonwealth’s 29 community colleges, state universities, or UMASS campuses to learn about the strengths and needs of each campus.

In an effort to have legislators think about the larger needs of public higher education, the caucus had encouraged legislators to visit a campus outside of their own districts.

Representative Sean Garballey, House chair of the caucus, stressed that “our 29 public higher education campuses are at the foundation of the Commonwealth’s future economic growth.  With legislators travelling to a different campus, this will help to prioritize the importance of our public higher education system as a whole.  The system in its entirety benefits all 351 cities and towns across the Commonwealth.”

His Senate counterpart, Senator Stan Rosenberg, hopes the project will give legislators a better understanding of the needs of higher education. “Our campuses bring a lot to the table so support for public higher education is important. I hope that each participant gains a deeper understanding and appreciation of the value of public higher education.”

“My visit to Bunker Hill Community College was very informative,” said Representative Paul J. Donato. “I was impressed with the number of courses that are being offered and the flexible time slots for those courses which allow access to a great number of working people trying to attain more education and training.”

– Information from State Representative Paul Donato (D-Medford, Malden)