Celebrating Impact During Community College Month

By Mark Rubinstein, CCSNH Chancellor 
April is recognized as "Community College Month" across the nation. Here in New Hampshire, there is much to celebrate.

For 80 years, New Hampshire’s community colleges have been providing high-quality, postsecondary education that builds bridges between the talents and ambitions of Granite Staters and the opportunities and needs that are important to our State. In 1945, that meant providing trade and vocational training, particularly to Veterans, honoring their service and strengthening New Hampshire’s workforce. Building on that foundation, we’ve broadened our offerings to match the changing workforce needs of New Hampshire’s employers, offering high-quality programs in many high-demand fields and in an array of formats to better support the students we serve throughout their lifetimes. 

With support from industry partners and the State, your community colleges are constantly updating those programs to ensure that residents are prepared to address the challenges of a tight labor market, and to meet the demand for a highly skilled workforce that supports healthcare, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and the broad spectrum of occupations emerging through innovation or experiencing age-driven succession gaps across the State. 

CCSNH's Healthcare Career Guidance Hub Initiative Aims to Strengthen Rural Healthcare Pathways

The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) is committed to providing high-quality education that connects students to meaningful careers while supporting the State’s workforce needs. With more than $6.7 million in year-one funding from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program—and up to $37.7 million over five years—CCSNH is advancing the Governor’s GO-NORTH initiative through a statewide Healthcare Career Guidance Hub (HCGH) Initiative.

Key components of the HCGH Initiative include:

• Establishing four regional hubs focused on healthcare and human services careers, integrating efforts across CCSNH’s seven colleges
• Leveraging existing strong healthcare programs, employer and educational partnerships, and flexible learning formats
• Defining and building clear career pathways from high school to hire
• Building on a proven apprenticeship model to engage employers and define regional workforce needs
• Providing students with career guidance, training pathways, certifications, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship opportunities, and job placement support

Great Bay Community College Marks 80 Years Transforming Lives

By Cheryl Lesser, GBCC President
Eighty years ago, the New Hampshire Trade School that would later become Great Bay Community College (GBCC) was established primarily to provide a path to a new life for veterans returning from World War II. Since then, GBCC has educated more than 90,000 students and has expanded from a handful of programs in 1945 to more than 50 today. Yet as we prepare to celebrate our 80th anniversary, that bedrock commitment to changing lives remains unchanged.

Each year, GBCC serves thousands of students whose paths to higher education are as varied as their ambitions. Our students include high school learners earning early college credit, traditional aged college students and adults finding an affordable way to obtain the degrees they need to launch their careers or further education, employees learning new skills, and adults returning to school to pursue new paths. More than 70% of our students attend college part-time while they work or raise a family.



As president of GBCC, I have the privilege of witnessing the transformative power of education every day. I see students who once questioned whether college was possible proudly crossing the commencement stage. I see employer partnerships opening doors to meaningful careers. I see students acquiring new skills to meet the evolving demands of industries that were unimaginable just 80 years ago.

CCSNH Chancellor Honored as Early Learning Champion

Mark Rubinstein, Chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, was recognized for his leadership and advocacy on behalf of the early childhood profession at a celebration of early childhood education in Concord. He received the Early Learning Champion Award for his role in securing dedicated funding to use as tuition support for those pursuing a degree or certificate in early childhood education at New Hampshire’s community colleges.  

Diana Menard, chair of NHTI’s Early Childhood Education Department, presented the award along with Jackie Cowell, executive director of Early Learning NH and ELNH board member Tom Raffio, President and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental.

“Chancellor Rubinstein’s advocacy has created meaningful opportunities, elevated the early childhood profession, and helped ensure that our youngest learners receive the high-quality education they deserve,” said Menard. “We are deeply grateful for his vision, his leadership and his steadfast commitment to early childhood education.”

Photo credit: MCAG Photography