Northern Essex Community College (NECC) is a public
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...
. The college serves residents of the
Merrimack Valley
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those l ...
and
Southern New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north ...
. It has campuses in
Haverhill and
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
. The college is part of the
Massachusetts Higher Education system. More than 6,600 students are enrolled in 70 credit associate degree and certificate programs and another 3,400 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. The school's athletic teams are known as the Knights. Northern Essex Community College is
accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
by the
New England Commission of Higher Education
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and other ...
.
Northern Essex was the first Massachusetts community college to offer Competency Based Education. It is also host to the Northern Essex Community College/Methuen Police Academy, and the Essex County Sheriff's Academy.
In 2001, Northern Essex became the first federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in all of New England. The NECC student population is 40% Hispanic – most of whom are from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Northern Essex offers an active athletic program. It offers men's basketball, baseball, track & field, and cross country. There is also women's volleyball, softball, track & field, and cross country.
History
In the fall of 1961, Northern Essex opened its doors to 186 students in the then-former Greenleaf Elementary School on Chadwick Street in Bradford, Massachusetts. Most were recent graduates of Haverhill High School as well as other high schools in surrounding towns. The college was popular from the start and in 1971 the Haverhill campus was built in the bucolic setting off Route 110.
The Lawrence campus was expanded with The Dimitry Building in 1991, followed by the Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center in 2005, and NECC Riverwalk in 2010.
In 2014, the Lawrence campus added its newest building, the El-Hefni Allied Health and Technology Building.
Academics
Northern Essex Community College offers over 70 associate degrees and certificates, categorized within 14 areas of study:
*Art
*Business
*Communication Arts
*Computer Information Sciences
*Criminal Justice
*Deaf Studies
*Education
*General Studies
*Health
*Human Services
*Liberal Arts
*Performing Arts
*Science
*Technology & Engineering
Locations
The college has a rural 106-acre Haverhill Campus (100 Elliott Street) which features seven campus buildings including the David Hartleb Technology Center (built in 2005) and the Behrakis One-Stop Student Center. There are currently four locations in the nearby city of Lawrence: The Dimitry Building located (45 Franklin Street); The Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center (78 Amesbury Street); the Dr. Ibrahim El Hefni Allied Health and Technology Center (414 Common Street); and another facility at 420 Common Street.
Publications
NECC is home to ''
Parnassus
Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...
'', a nationally recognized award-winning literary arts magazine in publication since 1965. ''Parnassus'' is a student-run and published literary magazine that is published yearly and which features student work in the form of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, and photography. Both the 2011 and 2018 issues of ''Parnassus'' were awarded a prestigious Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press, placing best in the nation for two-year colleges. From 2009 to 2013, the magazine was awarded First Place in the Eastern Division of the
Community College Humanities Association. ''Parnassus'' regularly features special guest authors from the New England area each year, and past guests have included
Steve Almond
Steve Almond (born October 27, 1966) is an American short-story writer, essayist and author of ten books, three of which are self-published.
Life
Almond was raised in Palo Alto, California, graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School and received ...
,
Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III (born September 11, 1959) is an American novelist and short story writer. He is a member of the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Early life and education
Born in Oceanside, California, to Patricia (née Lowe) a ...
,
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
,
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many ...
, and
Junot Diaz Junot is a French name that may refer to the following notable people:
;Given name
*Junot Díaz (born 1968), Dominican American
;Surname
*Laure Junot, Duchess of Abrantes (1784–1838), French writer
*Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantès (1771 ...
, amongst others.
The NECC ''Observer'' is the college's award-winning student newspaper. This paper is run by students and previously was awarded the designation of "College Gold Crown Newspaper" by the
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) is an international student press association, founded in 1925, whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchang ...
.
All students are encouraged to write for the ''Observer''.
Notable alumni
*
Steve Bedrosian
Stephen Wayne Bedrosian (born December 6, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Nicknamed "Bedrock", he played from 1981 to 1995 with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and Minnesota Twins. Bedrosi ...
, ’77, Former Major League Baseball Player and 1987 National League Cy Young Award winner
*
Tom Bergeron
Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, game show host, comedian and actor, best known for hosting ''Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' from 2001 to 2015, and ''Danci ...
, attended NECC ’74 -’75, Television personality
*
Daniel Lyons
Daniel Lyons (born 1960) is an American writer. He was a senior editor at ''Forbes'' magazine and a writer at ''Newsweek'' before becoming editor of ReadWrite. In March 2013 he left ''ReadWrite'' to accept a position at HubSpot.
Lyons is the aut ...
, ’83, ''Fortune (magazine)'' columnist
*Dr.
John Santos, ’68, Founder of Nature's Classroom
*
Francisco Urena
Francisco Urena is a Dominican-born American government official and former Marine who served as the Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Affairs and previously served as the Veterans' Services Officer for the cities of Boston and Lawrence, Mas ...
, '09, Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans' Affairs (2015-Present)
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Education in Haverhill, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Community colleges in Massachusetts
Universities and colleges in Essex County, Massachusetts
Educational institutions established in 1961
1961 establishments in Massachusetts
NJCAA athletics