The NECC Fund helps support NECC’s ArtSpace Gallery, which is open to the community.

This year the NECC Annual Fund – which provides much needed scholarship awards to students, program grants to faculty and staff, and support for the college’s endowment – awarded over $10,000 to six NECC grant applicants. These grants benefit a variety of programs and enable students to experience a greater range of academic opportunities.

Among awarded grant applicants was the Global Studies Department and Adjunct Professor Richard Padova, who requested funding to set up a new speaker series featuring academics, politicians, and journalists from around the region and beyond. Titled “Movers, Shakers, and Opinion Makers”, the series is designed to enrich dialogue among students. Last month the Global Studies department inaugurated the series with former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who spoke at length about the evolving political climate and the positive influence that technology has had in bringing about social change. Dean, a leading candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, now works as an independent consultant.

The NECC Fund also awarded the Veterans Services Program and Veterans Services Coordinator Jeffrey Williams with $2,000 in grant funds to provide for necessary organizational items, like honorary challenge coins and service flags (used in formal ceremonies to provide special acknowledgement), and to cover guest speaker fees. Assisting with these and other fees will allow the program to increase its visibility on campus and provide recognition for the achievements of its members. The Veteran Services Program serves as a critical resource for US military veterans as they navigate through the educational process.

Additional funding was granted to the Bentley Library ArtSpace, coordinated by Art Professor Marc Mannheimer and the Art and Design program, to help cover the costs of fixtures, exhibitions, and master classes. Last year, NECC Fund support allowed the Art and Design program to bring in notable guest artists like Scott Allie, editor-in-chief of Dark Horse Comics. Additional funding this year will allow for two to four new renowned guests.

Other NECC Fund awards include:

-$900 for the English/Foundational Studies and Liberal Arts and Sciences Division (FSLAS) to purchase materials related to the Literature: Art of Movies class.

-$4,000 for the Textbook Taskforce Program to assist professors in locating free resources for students by covering stipends

-$600 to provide art students with a bus trip to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts during the fall of 2014.

In its 10-year existence, the NECC Fund has awarded over $185,000 to student programs and related services. The college invites all interested faculty and staff members to submit grant applications each February for programs that will benefit the college community. Recipients are  chosen during the spring by NECC President Lane Glenn.

The NECC Fund relies upon the generosity of individuals and businesses to make these awards, and the overall success of NECC’s students, possible.

To donate, visit the NECC Fund website at www.necc.mass.edu/giving and click “donate now.”