Middlesex Community College: Mass. Board Of Higher Education Approves Sisson As MCC President

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

5/18/2021

The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) voted unanimously to approve Philip Sisson as Middlesex Community College’s next president. Sisson – current Provost and Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Middlesex – was selected to become the fifth president of MCC by the Middlesex Community College Board of Trustees in early May.

Sisson was presented to the BHE for consideration by MCC Trustees Chair James Campbell, who said Sisson’s experience leading the academic programs at Middlesex made him well suited to ascend to the presidency. He also lauded Sisson’s decades of work at community colleges, and his leadership on statewide initiatives to help make the state’s colleges more accessible to a diverse population of students. Campbell told the board he has worked with all four of Middlesex’s presidents – dating back to his time as Lowell City Manager – and was looking forward to working more closely with Sisson as MCC’s fifth leader moving forward.

BHE Commissioner Carlos Santiago was on the call, as was Secretary of Education James Peyser. Also appointed today were new presidents for Massasoit Community College and Westfield University. Commissioner Santiago said he has already worked with Sisson on a number of successful partnership projects between BHE and MCC.

“It was Phil who really helped us navigate the community college segment in getting these projects moving forward,” Santiago told the BHE board. “He’s a very thoughtful partner in our academic policies.”

Sisson told the board he was extremely optimistic that a number of programs will successfully and safely be returning students to MCC’s campuses over the summer and into the fall, with at least 43 percent of the college’s programs having some piece of face-to-face experience for the Fall 2021 semester.

Sisson said MCC administration and its Emergency Management Team have been working successfully with academic programs since last April to ensure that anyone who comes to the college’s two campuses – in Bedford and Lowell – is able to do smartly and safely, adhering to all of the current state and federal health guidelines regarding COVID-19.

“We’ve come a long way over the last 10 to 12 months,” Sisson told the BHE.

He also outlined his priorities with the board as focusing on boosting enrollment numbers, safely returning students, staff and faculty to campus, strategic planning and confronting race equity.

“We are in the midst of some of the most important national projects happening today,” Sisson said of MCC. “We are digging deep to understand how our students have an opportunity to learn from an equitable standpoint. I am incredibly excited about the path ahead!”

Registration for MCC’s Summer and Fall 2021 semesters is now open. To register, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to register.

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!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.