'To the Next Level'
"HCC, based on everything I have known about this place and have learned since I got here, does a tremendous job caring for the community."
Patrick Carpenter of Westfield as HCC's new director of Institutional Advancement.
In his new role, Carpenter serves as the principal gifts officer for the HCC Foundation, facilitates donor cultivation and engagement, and supervises the office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving.
Before his hiring at HCC, Carpenter held advancement positions at Westfield State University as major gifts officer, Boston College School of Law as associate director of University Advancement, and Elms College, his alma mater, as director of Annual Giving.
"We are really excited to have Patrick on board," said Amanda Sbriscia, HCC vice president of Institutional Advancement and executive director of the HCC Foundation, the college's nonprofit fundraising organization. "He brings a level of expertise in advancement that will bring our fundraising operation to the next level and, we believe and said in the posting for the job, to nationally recognized heights."
Carpenter started at HCC March 20.
"When you look at what is happening in higher education, particularly with increasing costs, community colleges are really providing an opportunity and a service that is vital to students looking to create a future for themselves and their families," Carpenter said. "HCC, based on everything I have known about this place and have learned since I got here, does a tremendous job caring for the community."
Carpenter has worked in higher education since earning his bachelor's degree in English from Elms College in 2002, starting his professional career at the College of Saint Rose as coordinator of Residence Life before returning to Elms in 2007 as director of Residence Life and eventually moving into the office of Institutional Advancement there.
He has also been a member of the adjunct teaching faculty at Elms since 2011 and served on the Elms College Board of Trustees and as president of the Elms College Alumni Association. In 2014, he received Bay Path University's Recent Alumni Award, which is presented to a graduate who possesses great leadership potential.
Carpenter holds a master's degree in higher education administration from Bay Path University and is working on his doctor of education degree in higher education administration from Northeastern University.
Carpenter grew up in Granville and graduated from Southwick High School. He lives in Westfield with his wife, Kelly, and their two sons, Travis, 10, and Sawyer, 3.
PHOTO by CHRIS YURKO: Patrick Carpenter
