Bunker Hill Community College

BHCC in the News

2008-02-20 - Bunker Hill Community College Wins $125,000 Grant from MetLife Foundation

Boston, February 20, 2008 –The MetLife Foundation has awarded a $125,000 grant to Bunker Hill Community College to support student achievement and boost the number of students graduating with associate degrees or transferring to four-year colleges. Bunker Hill Community College is one of ten community colleges in the northeast—and the only community college in Massachusetts—to win an award in the $1.2 million MetLife Foundation program. 

BHCC will use the grant to help students struggling with personal finances, child care needs, transportation and similar impediments to success. “Our students have jobs and families, and every day is a challenge. This grant will help make college education a practical possibility for many of our students,” said BHCC President Mary L. Fifield in announcing receipt of the grant.   

“Community colleges play a vital role in providing opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds to develop the skills they need for economic stability and success in life,” said Sibyl Jacobson, MetLife Foundation president. “Grants from our Community Colleges and Pathways to Student Success program respond to the needs of aspiring students in ways that will help more students reach their goals.” 

The grant will underwrite a fund to provide assistance to students dealing with the barriers to success that emerged in a recent survey of students who did not return to the College after an initial semester. The survey identified a range of factors beyond the classroom and campus—including financial barriers, work and family responsibilities, illness/health issues and transportation problems—that interfered with students’ ability to stay on track toward their educational goals. 

BHCC will model the new fund on the College’s successful Textbook Assistance Program, which has purchased more than $64,000 in textbooks for lower-income students to borrow for use for their classes. The BHCC Foundation and the BHCC Student Government Association have both pledged to support the fund’s sustainability and growth. 

The MetLife Foundation, founded in 1976, continues a well established company tradition of community involvement. The Foundation supports education, health, civic and cultural programs throughout the United States. 

Bunker Hill Community College is one of the largest community colleges in Massachusetts, enrolling more than 8,800 students on two campuses and at five satellite locations each semester. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC’s students are women. The College also enrolls more than 600 international students who come from more than 95 countries and speak 75 different languages.

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