August '25 News Blog
News briefs from the 萝莉社破解版 campus and beyond
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Rising Together
It seems fitting that alum Sheila Dion ’93 would be interested in 萝莉社破解版’s Thrive Center and Food Pantry. Dion is the founder and volunteer director of Erin's Angels, a nonprofit agency in central New York state that delivers free meals to hungry children. “Food is essential to growth, learning, and a bright future,” Dion said in an October 2024 萝莉社破解版 Spotlight interview. “It is more than sustenance. It is the foundation of health, happiness, and dreams. But, for too many kids, it is a daily struggle. I believe that every child deserves the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive without the burden of hunger.” Earlier this month, Dion, who grew up in Springfield, stopped by the Thrive Center to talk to Thrive coordinator Ben Ostiguy and food pantry coordinator Elizabeth Eastman. She left impressed. “Returning to 萝莉社破解版 and seeing the Thrive Center filled me with so much pride and gratitude,” Dion later wrote. “To know that my alma mater cares for students not only with education but also with food, school supplies and hygiene items shows the true heart of Western Mass. It really proves that when we lift each other up, we rise together.” PHOTO: Thrive coordinator Ben Ostiguy, left, food pantry coordinator Elizabeth Eastman, and Sheila Dion ‘93, Dion’s son John and her fiancé Dean, during an August visit to Thrive.
New Arrival
When asked where she would like to pose for a photograph to accompany a story about her recent 萝莉社破解版 appointment, Katherine Douglas, the interim vice president of academic and student affairs, did not demur. “The 萝莉社破解版 Library,” she announced. “I want to be near books. They still have books there, don’t they?” Indeed, they do. Fittingly, she stood next to stack of them arranged on a table in the library lobby under a placard that said, “New Arrivals.” Although Douglas started her interim post on August 4, this is not her first 萝莉社破解版 go-round. She served as dean of social sciences from 2005 to 2008. After completing her doctorate, she took a position as vice president of academic affairs at Sussex Community College in New Jersey and was later hired as president of Corning Community College in upstate New York, from which she retired in 2019. “But I wasn’t really retired,” she said. Through a national registry, she was called back into service for a brief stint as interim president of Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., moving to South Hadley in 2021 after her term at Monroe concluded. In 2023, she joined the 萝莉社破解版 Foundation Board of Directors, stepping down when offered the interim VP position. “The reason I considered it was, one, it was 萝莉社破解版, which I knew, and two, because I live right across the river,” Douglas said. Although a lot of the people she worked with the first time have retired, there are still plenty of familiar faces, she said, including Carl Todd, coordinator of library services, who took a photo of Douglas back in the day for the 萝莉社破解版 Library’s “Read” campaign, the framed poster of which she’s kept all these years and now sits on a bookcase behind her 萝莉社破解版 office desk. PHOTO: Katherine Douglas, interim vice president of academic and student affairs, poses next to the New Arrivals table in the 萝莉社破解版 Library.
萝莉社破解版’s Super Heroine
If you know anything at all about 萝莉社破解版 Police Chief Jacky Robles, you know she’s a huge fan of Wonder Woman. Her office is filled with images, photos, and other knick-knacks and tchotchkes celebrating the Amazonian demi-goddess of superhero lore – not to mention the large Wonder Woman tattoo she sports on her left arm. Since being sworn in last April as 萝莉社破解版’s new police chief – and the first Latina to hold that position – Robles has received a slew of recognitions, including a Commonwealh Heroine award from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women. “Oh, my gosh, that was incredible. I couldn’t believe it,” she recently said. “Then I had to chuckle a bit, because, obviously, I’m a total fan of Wonder Woman, and it’s a heroine award, and Wonder Woman is a heroine.” She was invited to the State House for the awards presentation, where state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez from Springfield surprised her with an acknowledgment on the floor of the House and proclamations from both the House and Senate, to go along with a citation recognizing her as civil service ambassador for the Springfield Puerto Rican Day Parade. (And – spoiler alert: In October, she will be recognized with a “100 Women of Color” award from the Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition.) The recognitions are exciting, she says, but she takes seriously the superhero credo, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and knows there are a lot of people looking to her for leadership. “I’m very humbled,” she said. “I don’t want to let anybody down, especially all the girls from my family. I’m happy and I’m proud, and I’m here, trying to make some moves, positive ones.” PHOTO: Police Chief Jacky Robles, in her 萝莉社破解版 office.
