HOLYOKE — Leaders of Holyoke Community College and the greater Pioneer Valley economy convened at the college’s Culinary Arts Institute on Tuesday to discuss the future of the college, as well as the role it plays in developing the future of western Massachusetts.
The gathering, part of what the school calls “Strategic Plan 3.0,” or just SP3.0, saw members of local government, education leaders and organizations devoted to economic development all gathering to discuss both the possibilities and challenges the region faces in the current moment. The name SP3.0 refers to the third iteration of the college’s strategic planning process, an initiative first started in 2018.
HCC President George Timmons, speaking at the start of Tuesday’s event, said the discussions of that day were meant for more than just an “academic exercise” within the college.
“We’re talking about the opportunity to look beyond the walls of our institution. We cannot just sit in a boardroom, or in our case on campus, and decide our future in isolation,” Timmons said. “Holyoke Community College belongs to this community and our community is the future.”
The event began with a panel discussion addressing several questions regarding local economic development and the role HCC and other economic institutions play in it. Panelists included Megan Burke, president of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; Anne Kandilis, director of Springfield WORKS; Frank Martínez López, executive director of Enlace de Familias; Jason Pacheco, director of workforce planning and analytics at Baystate Health; and Aaron Vega, director for the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the city of Holyoke.
UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes had been an intended panelist for the event, but ultimately did not participate after the event’s original date of Dec. 2 had been postponed due to inclement weather.
On the panel, Burke said that the existence of HCC, as well as a dozen more higher education institutions across Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties gave the region a considerable advantage, as well as what she described as the area’s “scrappiness” compared to the eastern half of the commonwealth.
“I think that [the colleges] really gives us the opportunity to show off what we’ve got and get all of these folks to stay here and contribute to what we have,” Burke said. “There’s something about being in an environment where we are all compelled to come together and think in new and innovative ways. How can we work better together when there isn’t necessarily endless resources?”
Attention was also given to the diversity of the region, with 35% of the HCC student body identifying as Hispanic and Holyoke having one of the largest per capita Puerto Rican populations outside of the island itself.
López said it was important for the city’s youth to understand their multicultural background as an asset going forward in their careers.
“I think when we think about equity, and we think about access within the Western Mass region, it’s understanding what you need to be successful,” he said. “I think within our region and where our multicultural and our pride is within our region, it’s really successful to say, I’m going to hone in on what skill sets you have and how we’re going to move that forward.”
With regards to economic development, Kandilis said it’s important for the region to focus on building on its existing strengths, comparing it with the city of Worcester to the east with its focus on life sciences, and Albany to the west becoming specialized in nanotechnology. Kandilis said that for western Massachusetts, a strength lay in the field of food science, considering UMass Amherst’s status as a research leader in the field.
“How do we catalyze an economic engine so that our.fastest growing jobs aren’t just social services jobs, which are very important but don’t pay well?” Kandilis said. “Food science is an asset that we have and it’s going to require AI, which we’re investing in, and quantum, which we’re investing in, and it has exportable commercialization opportunities.”
Vega also noted that HCC was quick to provide job training programs for new industries in the region, citing the examples of jobs that became available after cannabis and sports betting became legal in the state.
“The idea that whatever the industries come up, whether it’s food science, whether it’s quantum, whether it’s more things than medical, I think that HCC and other community colleges are poised and are the key to making sure there’s a program to get people locally trained for those jobs,” Vega said.
Following the panel discussion, the attendees split into various groups to discuss what else may be needed to springboard the local economy forward.
For Kevin Moforte, a fellow with the Transformative Development Initiative at MassDevelopment, one key issue stood out — housing. He said that unlike near Boston, much of the new housing is built by nonprofit groups such as Way Finders, a process that takes longer than with private housing groups.
“Way Finders is great because they’re actually investing in Holyoke, but it takes them years to get activated,” Moforte said. “In Boston there’s a lot of private developers who get private capital in a couple of months, they flip a house or they put up a building a year or so. Here’s a little different, because we’re not that attractive as a market.”
In addressing the audience that day, Timmons laid out five “frameworks” for the college’s strategic plan going forward in the next five to ten years. The frameworks listed included improving the college’s workplace, its academic distinction, student experiences collaboration with community and business organizations, and preparing post-graduates for the workforce.
“These frameworks are just the beginning. They are the scaffolding,” Timmons said. “What you bring to today’s conversation, your insights, questions, challenges and dreams of what is possible, that is what will give these frameworks substance and meaning.”
