Middlesex Community College Foundation Honors Donors At Annual Meeting

Middletown, Conn.—The Middlesex Community College Foundation board of directors is pleased to announce the recipients of their donor recognition awards, presented during the group’s annual meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. In addition to the awards presentation, the MxCC Foundation elected new board members.

Kristen Roberts, vice president of communications for Comcast’s Western New England Region, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Roberts earned an associate degree from Middlesex in 1987 and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Hartford. She is the current chair of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Among her many community achievements include the Hartford Business Journal Women in Business recognition in 2015 and the Middlesex United Way Community Service Award in 2019.

“My Middlesex roots go back to being with my mom, who worked at there when I was young,” said Roberts while accepting the award from out-of-state via Webex. “And now, the lives we touch make Middlesex special.”

The Donor Award went to the Paul L. Jones Fund. This foundation has funded scholarships for multiple students each year since 2006. In 2018, their annual contribution increased from $5,000 to $10,000. This yearly scholarship is awarded to new or returning, full-time students pursuing health fields and with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Samuel Slade, of Sauntertown, R.I., has donated to the Philip and Amy Wheaton Endowed Scholarship each year since 2006. For this, Slade was recognized with the Legacy Award. The scholarship, established by the family and friends of Wheaton, the college’s founding president, and his wife, is awarded to a returning or graduating student with financial need.

Judith Cook received the Corporator Award. A member and former chair of MILE, the Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education based at the college, Cook established the Extra MILE fund more than a decade ago. The MILE scholarship is awarded to returning, nontraditional students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and financial.

“I like to see that students have a chance [at education],” Cook said after receiving the award from Kimberly Hogan, Middlesex interim CEO, and Chris Dibble, MxCC Foundation board chair.

Dibble, a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Fairfield, presided over the meeting, and Laura Pieper, foundation secretary, guided the election of new board members.

Elected to the board are Lauren Katusha, associate registrar, Three Rivers Community College; Stephen Krevisky, Middlesex mathematics program coordinator and faculty representative; Steven Minkler, associate vice president for academic affairs at Central Connecticut State University and former Middlesex CEO; Tristan Sayah, marketing and communications coordinator, Wellmore Behavioral Health; and Katherine Tocto Quituisaca, student representative.

Ben Florsheim, mayor of Middletown, attended the meeting along with donors, community members, faculty and staff.

Dibble listed the foundation’s continued goals as recruiting and retaining new board members, improving the relationship strategy of how donors give, and raising awareness of the foundation on campus.

“The foundation appreciates the generosity of donors as an effort to provide affordable and accessible education for everyone in our community,” said Dibble.

More accomplishments of the foundation and a list of donors can be found in the 2021–22 annual report.

Created as a separate 501(c)(3) organization in 1979, the Middlesex Community College Foundation supports the college by encouraging and managing charitable contributions; directing funds for scholarships and academic development; and creating collaborations and partnerships with area business, civic, educational and professional leaders.

Middlesex Community College is among 12 community colleges in Connecticut merging in 2023 to become CT State Community College, one of the largest community colleges in the country and largest in New England, dedicated to quality, access, and affordability. CT State students will be able to apply once and take classes at any campus. In addition to Middlesex (Middletown & Meriden), other locations include Asnuntuck (Enfield), Capital (Hartford), Gateway (New Haven & North Haven), Housatonic (Bridgeport), Manchester, Naugatuck Valley (Danbury & Waterbury), Northwestern Connecticut (Winsted), Norwalk, Quinebaug Valley (Danielson & Willimantic), Three Rivers (Norwich), and Tunxis (Farmington) Community Colleges.