NORTHAMPTON — After starting his career as a special education professor, state Rep. John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley, is refocusing his attention on higher education in the State House.
Scibak has been named House chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education by House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a panel on which state Senator Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, state Rep. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke, and newly elected state Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose, D-Amherst, will also serve.
“I’m excited about it, given the Five Colleges, given the fact that I represent part of the area UMass is in and Mount Holyoke College is in my district,” Scibak said Monday. “Given the number of schools we have in western Mass, it just made a lot of sense to me.”
“It’s an important economic driver for the commonwealth,” he said of higher education in the commonwealth.
Scibak co-chairs the joint committee with Senate Chair Michael O. Moore, D-Worcester, and said one of the things he aims to do is hold some hearings in the western part of the state so that constituents don’t always have to travel to Boston to testify on matters.
“I believe it’s important to go to different areas of the state so people can have the opportunity to testify if they want to,” he said, noting that his team also closely examines written testimony from constituents.
Scibak has served in the House since 2003 and formerly chaired the Joint Committee on Public Service, the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and, most recently the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development.
He began his career as a special education professor at Indiana University and has also held faculty positions at the University of Notre Dame, Westfield State University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Also named to new leadership posts during the past week, is newly elected state Senator Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, who was named Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, and vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
“These committees are critical for building our economy and creating jobs,” Hinds said in a statement on his appointments. “Attracting more people to the region means doubling down on tourism, culture and economic development. In this role I will be focused on strengthening existing businesses, attracting others, and increasing incomes for working families.”
Other area lawmakers serving in leadership posts on joint committees:
State Rep. Peter V. Kocot, D-Northampton, is House chairman of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight;
State Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, is vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means;
State Sen. Eric P. Lesser, D-Longmeadow, is Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, and vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Financial Services;
State Rep. Aaron Vega, D-Holyoke, House vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities;
State Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, House chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.