Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' 106th Commencement

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Dan Harris
North Adams - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will celebrate its 106th Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. in the academic quadrangle. This year, 342 students, including 47 master's candidates will receive degrees. Dan Harris a correspondent for ABC News will deliver the keynote address. Harris will receive a Doctor of Humanities. Also receiving honorary degrees this year are Judge Paul E. Perachi, receiving a Doctor of Laws and Dr. Ellen Schiff, professor emeritus of MCLA, being awarded a Doctor of Pedagogy. In commenting on the honorary degree recipients, President Mary Grant said, "It gives me great pleasure to recognize these individuals for their contributions to Berkshire County, their respective communities and the nation and world at large. They have each had distinguished careers and have demonstrated leadership in their fields. I look forward to honoring them and recognizing their many professional and civic contributions." In recognition of their awards, the honorary degree recipients will have books placed in MCLA's Freel Library in their names. Harris joined ABC NEWS as a correspondent based in New York in March 2000. He currently reports for World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, Good Morning America and Nightline. Harris has covered many of the largest stories in recent years and has reported from such diverse datelines as: Ground Zero, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel and Iraq. Last year, he covered the Democratic presidential primaries and then John Kerry's general election campaign for ABC. Most recently, he has done extensive reporting on the conservative Christian movement. Harris was an anchor at New England Cable News (NECN), the largest regional cable news network in the country, from 1997 to 2000. Prior to that, he was an anchor and political reporter at WCSH, an NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine, for two years. He began his broadcasting career as a reporter for WLBZ, the NBC affiliate in Bangor. Harris has been honored several times for his journalistic contributions. His accolades include an Associated Press Award for political coverage, a regional Emmy for feature stories and a DuPont Award for in-depth coverage. A graduate of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Harris was raised in Newton, Mass., a suburb of Boston. He currently lives in New York City. Perachi, a 1963 graduate of MCLA, served as the alumni representative to the institution's Board of Trustees from 1994 - 2002 and currently serves as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. He was appointed an associate justice of the Juvenile Court by Governor William Weld in March of 1995. Originally assigned to the Springfield Juvenile Court, Judge Perachi was appointed as First Justice of the Berkshire Juvenile Court in October of 1997, and currently presides there. A former fourth grade teacher in the Pittsfield Public Schools, Judge Perachi taught algebra and served as a guidance counselor. He also was the athletic director, varsity basketball and assistant football coach at St. Joseph High School in Pittsfield. Judge Perachi was principal of the Lenox Memorial High School from 1970 to 1988. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a law degree from Western New England College School of Law. In 2002, Judge Perachi received the Massachusetts Judge's Award for Judicial Excellence and also was inducted into the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Athletic Hall of Fame. He lectures frequently on the Juvenile Court and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Western New England College, School of Law and MCLA. He was a co-founder of Shakespeare in The Schools and the founder of the internationally acclaimed, Shakespeare in the Courts. A longtime resident of Berkshire County, Schiff returns to the Berkshires each summer to visit family. She founded the MCLA Department of Modern Languages in 1962 and served as its first chair, teaching courses in the English and Interdisciplinary Studies Departments as well. She holds the first Ph.D. in comparative literature granted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. At MCLA, she was awarded Distinguished Service Awards for Faculty in 1979 and 1982 and the Senior Faculty Award upon her retirement in 1992. Schiff has remained an active scholar, pursuing her longstanding interest in the image of the Jew in drama and theatre. Since leaving the classroom, she has edited three anthologies of American Jewish plays; a fourth is currently in production. Recognized as a leading authority in the field, she lectures nationally and internationally. She has published a wide range of essays, articles, reviews, and book chapters. Currently she is co-editing an Internet international catalog of plays of Jewish interest available in English. Schiff serves as advisor to the Global Jewish Theatre Network in Tel Aviv, the Jewish Theatre of Austria, a consultant to the National Foundation of Jewish Culture and a juror in its annual New Play Commission competition. She currently lives in New York City.
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Senior Golf Series Returns in September

Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire County Fall Senior Golf series returns in September with events on five consecutive Wednesdays starting Sept. 18.
 
It is the 22nd year of the series, which is a fund-raiser for junior golf in the county, and it is open to players aged 50 and up.
 
The series will feature two divisions for each event based on the combined ages of the playing partners.
 
Golfers play from the white tees (or equivalent) with participants 70 and over or who have a handicap of more than 9 able to play from the forward tees.
 
Gross and net prices will be available in each division.
 
The cost is $55 per event and includes a round of golf, food and prizes. Carts are available for an additional fee.
 
Golfers should call the pro shop at the course for that week's event no sooner than two weeks before the event to register.
 
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