Letter: Tom Bernard for North Adams Mayor

To the Editor:

Tom Bernard, the mayor of North Adams, shows up. Everywhere. And he would do more if only there were more hours in a day. In a recent Facebook post listing a dizzying number of activities which he led or joined in, Mayor Bernard wrote, "There are so many positive and exciting things happening in North Adams and throughout the Berkshires right now, and it's such a privilege to be part of them. Now if I could finally master the trick of being in three places at once."

With Tom Bernard, it's genuine. He deeply cares about all the people in North Adams — their well being, their quality of life, their opportunities. And he doesn't stop at the city's borders. He "gets it" that in Berkshire County, connections and mutual support create more opportunities for the people of North Adams, so you will see him attending events in the County seat of Pittsfield, too.

I live in Williamstown but work and attend civic events in North Adams. I've seen up close the significant difference that Tom Bernard has made in the city — and throughout North County.

Arlene Kirsch
Williamstown, Mass.

Rogers-Adkinson Takes Oath as MCLA's 13th President

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:35PM / Monday, October 05, 2026

MCLA President Diana Rogers-Adkinson wearing the presidential chain and her special MCLA high-top Chuck Taylors after swearing in ceremonies. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The 13th president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts was formally installed on Saturday and challenged the college community to "love your students to success."

 

Diana Rogers-Adkinson, now nicknamed "President R.A.," was lauded by new and old friends colleagues who filled the Amsler Campus Center before giving her address: "A Shared Voice — A Bright Future."

 

"Thank you all for loving me to success," she said. "A life isn't rich without people like you to hold me tight. So finally, feel friends traveled in here today, and we almost all started as colleagues. We all believed in what education can do for people, and somewhere in all that work, we became something more. We lifted up our students, and we lifted up each other. Thank you for lifting me up today."

 

Rogers-Adkinson started in her post in July, succeeding the retiring James Birge. She was most recently senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs and chief academic officer for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which oversees 10 universities serving approximately 80,000 students.

 

She and other speakers touched on the issues impacting higher education today — the loss of faith in a college education and the challenges faced by students. 

 

"If people have lost confidence in higher education because they believe institutions intentionally keep our students enrolled longer for our financial reasons, then we have failed to tell the real story," she said. "Our students are not statistics; they are people navigating complex lives while pursuing an education and a better future."

 

Rogers-Adkinson pointed to a 78 percent retention rate at MCLA and comparable institutions, and flipped it by looking at the 22 percent who left. It's a figure she said she wasn't comfortable with and declared a goal of 100 percent retention.