Bristol Community College celebrated the 20th anniversary of the college’s Attleboro Campus, with a gathering at the 11 Field Road campus on Friday, September 27, reflecting on two decades of academic access, innovation and community impact.
For 20 years, Bristol’s Attleboro location has served the city’s students by offering pathways to an associate degree, whether students wish to enter directly into the workforce or transfer to obtain a bachelor’s degree.
“For many students, traveling 10, 15, or 20 miles can be the deciding factor in whether they pursue higher education. That’s why having a campus in Attleboro is so crucial and makes college accessible for more students,” said Dr. Laura L. Douglas, President, Bristol Community College. “Now with free community college in Massachusetts through MassEducate and MassReconnect, our Attleboro community has even more opportunities.”
Friday's event celebrated and featured remarks from leaders whose contributions were instrumental to establishing the campus, including Dr. John J. Sbrega, President Emeritus, for his vision to bring affordable college access to the city of Attleboro, and Don Smyth, former Chair of the Board of the Trustees, for his unwavering advocacy of the college within the Attleboro community. Paul Feeney, Massachusetts Senator; James Hawkins, Massachusetts State Representative; Steven Howitt, Massachusetts Senator and Cathleen DeSimone, Mayor of Attleboro, also provided remarks.
The college also recognized Kathy Torpey Garganta, the first Director of the Attleboro Campus, for establishing the community connections to advance the campus, and Laurie Pieroni, Administrative Assistant, for her dedication to assisting the location’s students and employees for more than 20 years.
Bristol Community College’s Attleboro location opened in the Spring of 2004 as a much smaller operation on 135 County Street, at the former Attleboro High School, before relocating to its current location at 11 Field Road in 2008. The dedicated, full-service campus now consists of lecture classrooms, science and computer labs, academic support services and an auditorium.
Thanks to generous supporters over the years, Bristol has upgraded the campus location with the state-of-the-art Earl R. Holden Microbiology Laboratory in 2017 and the brand-new Library Learning Commons, made possible by a $1 million gift from the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation in 2023.
For more information about Bristol Community College’s Attleboro Campus, please visit www.bristolcc.edu/locations/attleboro/.