Gov. Deval Patrick joined leaders from Massasoit Community College, Bridgewater State University and the University of Massachusetts-Boston, as well as state and local officials and community leaders, to announce $21.5 million for the renovation of 226 Main St., the site of a new higher education campus in downtown Brockton.
The Brockton Education Collaborative, a first-of-its-kind partnership, took the first step in bringing the learning center to the city, allowing students to participate in programs offered by Massasoit, Bridgewater and UMass-Boston all under one roof.
"Opportunity" was the word of the morning during the announcement at Brockton City Hall, attended by 300 invited guests and the media. Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter said the new educational facility “was all about opportunity in the city of Brockton. We want to increase opportunity for our young people by bringing higher education closer to home. This creates a clear path to a four-year degree starting at Massasoit and continuing at UMass-Boston and Bridgewater.”
“This project speaks to much of what we are trying to do,” said Gov. Patrick. “You get economic growth only if you have a strategy and you invest in that strategy. Opportunity is a defining feature of what it means to be an American. This project represents an investment in our opportunity.”
Funding for the satellite campus was included in the governor’s 2015-2019 Capital Investment Plan. The project is expected to create 250 construction and permanent educational jobs, attract more people to the area, increase foot traffic in downtown Brockton, and provide affordable short-term training, certificate and degree programs for students.
Commissioner Carole Cornelison of the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance called the project “an innovative public/private partnership … that will result in a shared services campus that adds to the many exciting revitalization efforts going on in downtown Brockton.”
The satellite campus is expected to serve approximately 1,000 students, providing them access to resources from the three higher educational institutions all in one place.
“For us, being co-located with Bridgewater State University and UMass Boston it will provide our students with new pathways to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees,” said Dr. Charles Wall, president of Massasoit Community College. “What a marvelous opportunity we’ve created for Brockton. We are reaching out as never before.”
“This has bee an incredible collaboration,” said Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, president of Bridgewater State University. “We realized this was a first. It is a model that will prove itself for Gateway Cities down the road. This initiative belongs to you.” In Brockton alone, the state has already invested $15 million through Gateway Cities to fund the redevelopment of an entire downtown block near the commuter rail station.
Addressing a number of students in attendance at the event, Dr. J. Keith Motley, chancellor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, said, “It’s good to see that you are ready for this exciting partnership between three great institutions. The buzz going on around this is amazing. I know we are going to continue to build this collaborative. We are ready to stand with this community.” (Story by Eva T. Gaffney; photo courtesy of The Enterprise/Marc Vasconcellos)