BHCC President Pam Eddinger Speaks for "Democracy's College" at CASE Conference

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Feb 03, 2014, 03:35 ET

BOSTON, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a wide-ranging discussion moderated by WBUR Radio's On Point host Tom Ashbrook at the Westin Copley Place in Boston on January 30, Bunker Hill Community College President Pam Y. Eddinger stressed the role of community colleges as "Democracy's college" in today's higher education landscape. The conference included representatives of two- and four-year colleges and universities throughout the Northeast. Eddinger shared a panel with the Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the President of Bentley University.

Responding to questions about steeply rising student debt, joblessness among college graduates, and a growing perception that college may be out of reach for many high school graduates today, Eddinger pointed to the role of community colleges in making higher education affordable to low-income students.

"In addition," the president said, "young people today are dealing with a social fabric that is deteriorating around them. If the community colleges do not help to re-weave the social fabric, it simply unravels." Community colleges like BHCC now provide a comprehensive approach to the financial, educational and career needs of students in order to make college possible for them, she explained.

The panel discussion, called "A View from the Top: Presidents on the Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education," was a highlight of the northeast district conference of CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. CASE is an international professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

Media Contact:
Karen M. Norton, Executive Director of Integrated Marketing and Communications
Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, MA 02129
Phone: 617-228-2177; Email: [email protected]

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 14,000 students on two campuses and at three satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Sixty-seven percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 800 international students who come from approximately 100 countries and speak more than 75 languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College