On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) visited Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to expand the City of Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College program. Rep. Pressley was joined by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, BHCC President Pam Eddinger, and BHCC students for a campus tour and a press conference to highlight how the funding will help address the college affordability crisis locally as she continues her calls for President Biden to cancel student debt.

Pressley secured this federal funding for Boston in the government spending package that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden in March. In total, Rep. Pressley secured over $8 million for 10 community projects across the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District, capping off nearly a year of advocacy by Rep. Pressley and local leaders.

College’s first new building in a decade expands student services and learning commons with a climate-responsive design 

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) broke ground on a new Student Success Center building on Tuesday, April 26, the first new building in more than a decade for the state’s largest community college and the first of several planned upgrades for the almost 50-year-old campus. 

First college food pantry in the country to use automated refrigerated lockers to help the community access needed food and supplies

Earlier this month, Bunker Hill Community College’s DISH Food Pantry took a major step towards improving access to food and other daily necessities to the college community. In an otherwise nondescript hallway in B-Building, outside the DISH’s main food pantry, a bank of lockers, brightly colored in red and gray and adorned with the stolid visage of Charlie the Bulldog, stand ready to serve meals and much more—the first such lockers to be used by a college food pantry in the country.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

Dear BHCC Community,

Since last week’s Russian invasion of Ukraine, I have watched the events unfolding in Europe with concern and sorrow. Violence and war are the enemies of the values that this College and virtually every educational institution hold dear. Where education broadens our understanding of ourselves and the world, war narrows it; where education lifts a light by which we might see, violence casts only shadow. As a College, we stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and with victims of war and violence everywhere. 

On Thursday, January 13, Dr. Pam Eddinger, President of Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), and BHCC psychology student Julia Vogel participated in an event titled: Call to Mind Live: Pass or fail - mental health in community colleges. The discussion focused on understanding and navigating the mental health gaps in community colleges.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

Dear BHCC Community,

As we study the inspirational achievements and ongoing struggles in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 17, 2022, I hope we take his teachings to heart and reflect on our own work, and that of our community, our nation, and our world.  

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is pleased to share the announcement of Dr. R. Kelly Cameron, BHCC Board of Trustees member, on the appointment to the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) Council for Student Success. Established in 2021, the Council leverages the experience, perspectives, and insights of its members with active leadership roles to develop AGB expertise designed to strengthen strategic board governance across higher education.

The Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) awarded Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) English Professor Enzo Silon Surin The Poetry Award for When My Body Was A Clinched Fist. A debut collection about coming of age in New York during the 1990s, it describes the poverty and violence of that time and place with eloquence and sensitivity.

On Tuesday, October 5, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) Compelling Conversations Speaker Series welcomed resident artist Larry Spotted Crow Mann for an open dialogue about the state of Indigenous communities across the United States. Sponsored by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Mary L. Fifield Art Gallery’s BHCC Distinguished Artist Scholar in Residency Program, Mann will lead BHCC through virtual professional development workshops about Native American history, culture, and storytelling during the 2021-2022 academic year.

The 2021-2022 Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) “Compelling Conversation Speaker Series” sponsored and presented by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion kicked off on September 23 as a part of Hispanic Heritage Month in collaboration with the BHCC One Book Program. The first speaker in the series was José Olivarez, the author of the 2021-2022 BHCC One Book Program selection, Citizen Illegal. José Olivarez read aloud several poems from Citizen Illegal and generously shared a couple of his new poems with the 100 bustling and engaging audience at the event. As one of the audiences said so aptly in the chat, it was “Incredible how much life you have given the words we read already just by reading them out loud.” During the poetry reading, the audience exchanged their reactions to topics of the poems, such as “VapoRub” or “tortillas,” in the chat in such a lively way. After his 40-minute poetry reading, facilitated by Professor Carlos Maynard, Olivarez and students made the virtual space deeply communal. For the remaining 50 minutes, students flooded the space with a nonstop stream of questions for Olivarez: “raised hands” of different colors constantly popped up on the Zoom black screen, and the chatbox brimmed with questions from the audience.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the appointments of 29 members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship, and provide advice and recommendations on issues related to Registered Apprenticeship. The advisory committee will also promote greater awareness of the benefits of apprenticeship, foster increased alignment between apprenticeship opportunities and workforce and education systems, expand apprenticeship into new industries and occupations, and ensure equity for under-represented populations.

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) President Pam Eddinger joined the Commonwealth’s 14 other community college presidents in announcing that students, faculty, and staff at the Commonwealth’s 15 community colleges must be fully vaccinated by January 2022.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

Dear Members of the BHCC Community,

Tomorrow, September 11, 2021, marks the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country.  As a nation, this extraordinary act of violence will always be a significant tragedy in our history.  For those of you who lost family members, friends, and co-workers, 9/11 also marks a consequential loss in your life in a profound way.  They are not forgotten.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

The Associated Press from Port-Au-Prince reported early Wednesday morning that Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home. First Lady Martine was wounded in the attack as well. Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, is in temporary control of the government. The U.S. Embassy in Haiti is restricting U.S. Staff to its compound, and the embassy is closed Wednesday.

The Mary Christie Institute has hosted a series of interviews with leaders from higher education and healthcare on the emotional and behavioral health of teens and young adults.

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) student Julia Soriano was honored as a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

Late today, the Jury returned a guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, bringing justice to the light of day after so much pain and turmoil. As we continue to mourn the loss of George Floyd, and are consoled by the triumph of justice today, we also acknowledge his important place in history. Mr. Floyd’s death served to reignite the civil rights movement of our age, and added to urgency to our search for justice and for healing.

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) English Professor Caroline Kautsire was featured as a notable author for Women’s History Month on CBS Boston and WCVB Chronicle. During the interview with WCVB Chronicle, Professor Kautsire talked about her journey as an author in America and Malawi and her book, What Kind of Girl? An African Child Caught Between Worlds.

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

The shooting in Atlanta yesterday that resulted in the death of six Asians, and the rise in attacks on the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Community across the nation have left many of us feeling outraged, disheartened, and fearful.  In mainstream press and social media, we hear reports of targeted acts of verbal and physical violence.  From our own students, we hear about experiences of aggression on and off-campus that have made them feel unsafe. With the recent attacks on elders in the Asian communities, in which respect for family and older generations is especially important, the physical and psychological insult is severely felt.

Plough Quarterly announced the first annual Rhina P. Espaillat Poetry Award in honor of the achievements of the Dominican-American poet and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) Distinguished Artist and Scholar in Residence. Plough Quarterly is an award-winning international magazine of faith, culture, and society.