MCC Celebrates 50 Years of Student Success

Middlesex Community College celebrates 50 years on Thursday, September 24. From expanding the campus in Bedford, to establishing the college as a vital institution in Lowell, throughout its 50 years, Middlesex has striven to guide students on their paths, to give them opportunities they might not have gotten elsewhere, and to mark the college as a leader throughout the community.

On opening day in 1970, MCC welcomed 570 students, 17 to 66 years old, from 52 cities and towns. Over 50 years, more than 26,000 students have walked through the doors to seek MCC out for a variety of reasons. With 10,957 students now enrolled at the college, in the 2020 class alone, MCC graduated 1,073 students, ages 17 to 68, from 51 countries.

Kids, high school students, traditional-aged college students, adult learners and senior adults can now take advantage of MCC’s more than 80 degree and certificate programs – with 11 degree programs and six certificates fully online – and hundreds of courses for credit and noncredit purposes. MCC’s over 20 years of experience as a leader of online education has also allowed the college to offer its online programs across the country.

Student success is the main goal of Middlesex and this includes building a sense of community on-campus. Both in-person and online, MCC has more than 40 student organizations and clubs and eight athletic programs. MCC students participate in Service-Learning opportunities, internships, conferences and competitions both locally and nationally. For the past decade, the college has also offered a Commonwealth Honors Program.

Since 1992, MCC has provided International Education Fellowships for students to visit a country and study its history and culture. Countries include Belize, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Greece, Ireland, Peru, Russia and Spain.

The college has seen four presidents and thousands of faculty and employees over the past five decades whose legacies are long lasting. MCC commemorates the work of all those who got them here and appreciates all those who continue to lead by example, promote MCC’s mission of student success, and try to make Middlesex accessible, equitable and safe for all students.

MCC is an extended family, from the nurturing roles of mentors and teachers that each of the college’s faculty members play, to the advisors, support staffers, and administrators who help provide the services needed to guide each student to achieve their personal successes.

As a community college, Middlesex is in a unique position to support a diverse population of students. The personal back-stories of the students are inspirational, heartwarming and uplifting. The support of this family network provides the backdrop for so many Middlesex success stories.

As one of the first students at Middlesex, Joe Orfant helped build it. Even in the beginning, he understood that the college was the start of opportunity for many and taught students to face their futures with confidence, no matter the circumstances. Orfant believes the college will always remain “unfinished” because every student has the opportunity to leave their mark.

“Each generation confronts new challenges and gets to build it anew,” he said “Today’s students are faced with an almost unimaginable global challenge and their Middlesex experience will be different but uniquely their own. What lessons it has to teach them! They may not know it yet either, but they made a great choice. The perspective of half a century tells me so. I hope that one of them will get to look back in another 50 years. What marvelous stories she will have to tell about how she and her classmates built a college in challenging times. Prepare to be amazed.”

Middlesex understands that the college celebrates its achievement at a time when many are suffering worldwide, including within the MCC family. Since the Spring 2020 semester, the pandemic has created an unprecedented obstacle that MCC students, faculty, staff and administrators continue to face together.

Much innovation, hard work and dedication went into these past few months – reminiscent of how Middlesex has endured throughout the college’s storied history – and despite these challenges, it is important to remember how far MCC has come in these past 50 years.

In a 1980 written history of the college by six members of the administration, including third president and former professor of Business Carole Cowan, this message of resilience is clear: “Over the years, the back has been bent; the hope has diminished; but the work has gone on and the accomplishments have been substantial. All of this is possible because of the spirit which has prevailed at the institution from the beginning, because of the cooperation and the hope and the belief in the basic worth of what is being done and in what might yet be done.”

That hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed by the community. Middlesex has made itself a leader by developing hundreds of partnerships with local businesses and organizations, helping to strengthen the Massachusetts’ workforce and economy.

Having witnessed MCC’s growth over the past five decades, Judge Robert A. Barton has come to know many students and employees at the college. He served on MCC’s Board of Trustees for 10 years and is now on the Middlesex Community College Foundation. Judge Barton thinks highly of the character of the people of Middlesex, including their devotion to their work.

He also cut the ribbon on MCC’s opening day as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Bedford. In his reflection of the college, he kept using two words – “I’m impressed.”

“I’m impressed with Middlesex,” he said. “There are many people who cannot afford college or haven’t really decided what they want to do with their life. At Middlesex, you can really learn a trade and you can take steps towards nursing or getting into all these different occupations. It’s much more down-to-earth than some of the four-year institutions.”

As always, Middlesex continues to look forward. Despite the pandemic postponing in-person events, the college plans to celebrate its 50th throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

In dedication of 50 years of Middlesex’s service to students and the community, the MCC Foundation is kicking off its “Give $50 for 50 Years” fundraising campaign. The Foundation asks all who can to please consider making a donation in honor of the college’s 50th celebration to go towards an unrestricted fund for students.

As Middlesex welcomes all who seek it, the MCC Foundation works hard to raise funds for students struggling with financial burdens. Donations made during this campaign will go to a variety of student and college needs.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/50for50 for more information and to donate.

If you have ever taken a class at Middlesex, you are an alumni! To join – and to share your story – contact Amy Lee, MCC’s Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at leea@middlesex.mass.edu or 978-656-3028. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/alumni/ to join MCC’s free alumni association.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!