Business faculty Pam Donahue, Pat Morrow, Kristen Quinn,and Judith Ciampi, accepted the ALISE Award from Mike Hearn, director of library services. (Photo credit: Lance Hidy).

When Northern Essex Community College administration first talked about creating meta major centers as part of the new Integrated Student Experience, business faculty were the first to take on the task of creating a space that would fulfill the students’ academic and support needs.

Now just two semesters in, those pioneering faculty members have been recognized for the successful development of NECC’s first meta major center located on the second floor of the Spurk Building on the Haverhill campus. The Integrated Student Experience Strategic Plan Goal Team established the award. Judith Ciampi, Kristen Quinn, Pam Donahue, and Pat Morrow are the recipients of the first Award for Leadership in the Integrated Student Experience (ALISE), according the Mike Hearn, director of the NECC’s library services, and a member of the ISE Goal Team.

“This was a way for us to recognize their accomplishments,” said Hearn. “They took the initiative to create the meta major center and ran with it. Because of their research and work we now have some good actionable information as to what works and what doesn’t work. There wasn’t a precedent for them to follow.”

The business faculty among other things, created a speaker series; collaborated with career services to offer seminars and workshops; offered peer accounting mentors; and designated time for enrollment services and financial aid representatives to visit the center.

By the fall of 2018, Northern Essex hopes to launch liberal arts, STEM, and professional studies meta major centers.

The Goal Team hopes to present the award each year during the strategic plan according to Hearn.

For additional information on this award, contact Hearn at mhearn@necc.mass.edu