MCLA, BIC Partner for MBA Program

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC) are partnering on the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program to enhance and expand experiences and career connections to prepare graduates for innovation-driven careers in the Berkshires and beyond. 
 
"It's incredible to see two major Berkshire County institutions come together to leverage the growth of MCLA's programming with the BIC advancement opportunities," said James Birge, MCLA President, and BIC Board Member. "I'm looking forward to the networking and educational opportunities this will provide for our MBA students and the collaborations with industry leaders at the BIC."  
 
Through this partnership, MCLA will contribute to the BIC's efforts to foster growth within the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and all regional technology and innovation-based sectors by being a collaborative-synergistic shaper of the student experience. 
 
Starting this fall, BIC will host students for 10 Saturdays through the spring for MBA students. The classes will be taught online and on-site at BIC in a hybrid format. Applications for the Fall 2023 program are due by August 18.  
 
"To explain an MBA influenced by innovation… you could substitute the word innovation for creativity. What we're able to do by having the classes at the BIC is that we're allowing students to be adjacent to the creative process," said Dr. Dennis Rebelo, Chief Learning Officer at the BIC. "To be able to spark additional thinking that conjures up new ideas that can also be socially responsible is a big win. You may think about technology as anti-human but we think about it as really serving humanity.. we think about things more from a humanitarian standpoint." 
 
"The possibilities are really limitless for our students to embrace and be a part of the future of advanced technologies," said Dr. Joshua Mendel, Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education. at MCLA. 
 
This partnership allows MCLA to fulfill the critical needs of the manufacturing industry in Berkshire County on both the undergraduate and graduate level to grow and enhance the future of the county's workforce. 
 
An MBA information session is scheduled for July 18 at 5 p.m. at BIC in the Milltown Board Room on the second floor. To register visit mcla.edu/mba.

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Firm Chosen to Lead Study on 'Reconnecting' North Adams

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has selected a Boston firm to lead the $750,000 feasibility study of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
 
Stoss Landscape Urbanism and its partners are charged with providing North Adams options for addressing the failing overpass to create a more connected and thriving downtown.
 
"The city of North Adams is thrilled to be working with Stoss and their partners to make sure that we make inform decisions about our future and that we explore every  opportunity to remedy disconnected traffic patterns downtown caused, in large part, by the Route 2 Overpass. It is imperative that, unlike the Urban Renewal programs of the past, we do so in an inclusive, collaborative way." said Mayor Jennifer Macksey in a statement announcing the selection. "We are excited by the possibility that this collaboration among the city, Stoss, Mass MoCA and NBCC will result in a truly transformative project that will benefit of the people of North Adams, surrounding communities and visitors to the city."
 
The city partnered with Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art to apply for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. The program is providing a $1 billion over the next five years for planning, construction and technical grants for communities affected by past infrastructure projects. 
 
Connecting the city's massive museum and its struggling downtown has been a challenge for 25 years. A major impediment, all agree, is the decades old Central Artery project that sent a four-lane highway through the heart of the city. 
 
The 171-foot span is in dire need of repair and deemed "structurally deficient" after the most recent inspection by the state Department of Transportation. A set of jersey barriers narrows the four-lane highway to two lanes at the midpoint. The last time it was overhauled was in 1992 with the federal government and state picking up the $2.1 million tab.
 
The museum and city are seeking options that include its possible removal and a reconfiguration of that busy traffic area. 
 
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