The Northern Essex Community College Board of Trustees gathered for its last meeting of the calendar year on December 11 on the Lawrence Campus. The agenda included an update on the college’s finances, details of the next steps in exploring building a new high school for Whittier Tech on NECC’s Haverhill Campus, and a report from the Liberal Arts division.

Audit and Finance Committee Report

The meeting began with a brief update from the Audit and Finance Committee. Trustee Lloyd Hamm, Jr. said auditors praised the work of the college’s management and finance teams. He noted that increased credit hours have contributed to an overall increase in revenues. “We’re all pleased with the [college’s financial] position,” he added.

Education Report

Liberal Arts Dean Amy Callahan shared an impressive list of accomplishments and initiatives from her area with the Trustees. She praised the dedication of the Liberal Arts faculty to the mission of the college. Currently, there are 27 full-time and 70 part-time Liberal Arts faculty members. Students can choose from seven Liberal Arts majors. Callahan highlighted how they’ve enhanced the student experience by incorporating experiential learning (EL) into many classes.

“I’m very proud of the work we’re doing around EL,” she said. “We try to emphasize EL in the Liberal arts, beyond internships. We build things that students do into our classes. For example, our music classes have performances built in and we have art gallery shows featuring student works.” Journalism students also contribute to the student newspaper, the NECC Observer, as part of their classwork.

“Not every school has a student free press. You can’t have a healthy democracy without a healthy, functioning free press,” she pointed out.

The success of “Hurricane Diane” is an example of a stellar year for the Liberal Arts Division

The NECC Observer regularly wins awards from The New England Newspaper and Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. This year another Liberal Arts publication, the literary magazine Parnanus, won a national Pacemaker award from the Associated Collegiate Press, making it one of the top student collegiate magazines in the country. Callahan also reminded the Trustees about the theater program’s juggernaut production of “Hurricane Diane,” which won 13 national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Report of the Administration

President Lane Glenn updated the Trustees on the exploration of a shared campus model between NECC and Whittier Tech. High School. At the time of the December Trustees meeting, a vote was expected shortly on whether Whittier Tech High School would be invited into the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Eligibility Phase. (Whittier Tech was admitted to the eligibility phase on December 13.) President Glenn noted that Trustees can expect to see the results of a series of public listening sessions conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute in early 2025.

“The Donahue Institute is nearly finished with its report. It will lay out a few recommendations and paint a picture of what combined institutions might look like. We’re making progress,” said Glenn.

Updates on the Whittier project can be found on the webpage.

The NECC Board of Trustees includes nine members whom the governor of the state appoints to a maximum of two five-year terms, as well as an alumni-elected member, who also serves a maximum of ten years, and the student trustee who serves for two semesters. The next board meeting will be held February 5 on the Haverhill Campus. A full list of meeting dates and more information about the Board of Trustees can be found on the webpage.