STCC Announces $1 Million MassMutual Foundation Gift to Support Health Programs

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received a $1 million grant from the MassMutual Foundation — the largest philanthropic gift received by the college in the past 15 years — to help with the relocation of the School of Health and Patient Simulation (SHPS).

The college plans to move its health programs out of Building 20, an 83-year-old structure with a history of expensive emergency repairs. Most of the programs will be relocated to Scibelli Hall, or Building 2, a seven-story structure opened in 1988 on the historic STCC campus.

The total estimated project cost to relocate is approximately $50 million, with committed funding from the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance ($38 million), the STCC board of trustees ($11.5 million), and the STCC Foundation ($500,000).

STCC President John Cook thanked the MassMutual Foundation at an Oct. 22 ceremony announcing the gift.

“We cannot express enough gratitude to the MassMutual Foundation for this leadership award, which continues our momentum for relocating the School of Health and Patient Simulation,” Cook said. “This gift is a remarkable investment in our regional workforce and will have a deep impact on students enrolled in essential health programs at STCC.”

The $1 million from the MassMutual Foundation will help enhance the educational and technological experience for students enrolled in programs in the School of Health and Patient Simulation at STCC.

“The MassMutual Foundation is proud to award this grant to STCC for this very important initiative,” said Dennis Duquette, president and CEO of the MassMutual Foundation. “Through this vital work, STCC not only provides hundreds of students with state-of-the art medical training, but the health-services sector of our local economy will benefit tremendously when STCC graduates are hired. We are thrilled to help them relocate and update the School of Health and Patient Simulation, and look forward to seeing the impact this will have on both current and future generations of students in the Greater Springfield area.”

The SIMS Medical Center includes more than 70 patient simulators, the largest array in New England. Accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the center provides a state-of-the-art, immersive educational environment where students and healthcare personnel obtain new skills while refining existing skills.

With an enrollment of more than 1,500 students, SHPS offers 13 associate-degree and five certificate programs in health. Health programs include nursing, dental hygiene, physical and occupational therapy, surgical technology, and an open-admission health science degree with embedded certifications.