GREENFIELD — Nearly a year after Michelle Schutt joined Greenfield Community College as its 11th president, family, friends and leaders from across the state gathered on campus for her inauguration on Wednesday afternoon.

“Dr. Schutt has been a great addition to GCC and the GCC family,” Hector Toledo, chair of the GCC board of trustees, said during the inauguration on the campus lawn. “She came to us with a wide open mind and a passion for higher education, the two things you really can’t teach.”

Schutt arrived at GCC in July 2022 with more than 20 years of experience in higher education, most recently serving as vice president of community and learning services at the College of Southern Idaho. There, she made strides in increasing enrollment and retention, overseeing an enrollment increase of 3% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her role in community and learning services, Schutt also served as vice president for student services and taught college-level courses each semester.

Schutt earned a bachelor’s degree in English education from Upper Iowa State University, master’s degrees in teaching and social responsibility from Emporia State University in Kansas and St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, and a doctorate in education and human resources from Colorado State University.

Despite her July arrival, the inauguration was delayed a year in part because of the pandemic, but also to allow students and staff time to settle into the academic year.

“I am honored and humbled to continue serving as GCC’s 11th president,” Schutt said. “I have every confidence we’ll continue building the incredible reputation GCC has within our commonwealth and within the region.”

Speakers included Sen. Jo Comerford, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane, GCC board of trustees member Judith Roberts, interim Dean of Enrollment Management Patrick Tanner and Schutt’s daughter, Gwendolyn. Several spoke to Schutt’s demonstrated commitment to Franklin County and improving access to education.

“It is clear to anyone who has witnessed President Schutt’s breathtaking embrace of our region and the embrace of the unparalleled equity engine that is Greenfield Community College, that this is the place for Dr. Schutt,” Comerford said.

Comerford spoke to the total cost of college — a cost that includes more than tuition and fees — needed to see a student’s education through to completion. She recalled a tour of the campus with former Secretary of Education Noe Ortega, during which officials talked about barriers to accessing education and the challenges that still needed to be addressed, particularly the underfunding of community colleges such as GCC.

“I left feeling grateful for President Schutt’s laser focus, her ideas, her candor, her courage, her partnership,” Comerford said. “We’re going to need that all as the Mass. Senate and House embark on transformational investments in higher education and public higher education.”

Others referred to Schutt as a “fearless change leader.”

“As I was contemplating the many strengths she brings to her work, the one that rose to the surface was her undying belief that what got us here will not be what gets us to where we’re going,” Tanner said. “In other words, Michelle’s leadership style, her heart and her vision for our students and our community can be summarized by her abilities as a fearless change leader. … Even in less than a year, we can all point to more than a handful of changes she’s leading that will fundamentally adjust our work, hone our expertise and work toward mission fulfillment.”

Speaking on behalf of the family, Gwendolyn Schutt, a junior at Framingham State College, thanked her mother for providing a childhood “surrounded by a love for learning and encouragement to continue on the path of educational attainment.”

“My siblings and I always talk about how our parents walked so the rest of us could run,” she said. “I have been given so many opportunities in this life that I am forever grateful for and will never be able to repay.”

In a break from tradition, two students — Student Senate President Melissa Kuzmeski and Student Senate Vice President Magin Nason — presented Schutt with the presidential medallion, a role traditionally bestowed upon the chair of the college’s board of trustees.

“We are confident these values of community and a focus on our students will continue to be held as central to the college’s mission and values,” said Kuzmeski. “Let this medallion be a symbol of our belief in this institution in your charge to take us forward with students and their success at the heart of this college, which we’ve grown to love and care for very deeply.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.

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