Black PR Wire Power Profiler on Dr. Carole M. Berotte Joseph

Dr. Carole M. Berotte Joseph became the first Haitian American to head a U.S. college when she was recently inaugurated as the fourth president of Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) in Wellesley Hills, MA and its first woman president since its inception.

Dr. Berotte Joseph joins an elite and select group of just 49 African-American women nationwide serving as college and university presidents. African-American women presidents make up a scant 1.4% of all college presidents.

As a staunch advocate of community colleges, Dr. Berotte Joseph's vision is to make MassBay one of the premiere community colleges in the state of Massachusetts. "My goal is to create a dynamic environment for students with the best faculty and the highest level of support services," says Dr. Berotte Joseph.

"Community colleges are somewhat underrated and little recognized, but they play a critical role in our economy," she says. "Many times when there is a shortage of workers in a certain sector, such as nursing, community colleges are nimble and have an edge over four-year colleges. Community colleges are able to create programs quickly to train much needed workers in a short period of time, thus resulting in helping people to find jobs and to fill a demand in the workforce." Ninety-five percent of businesses and organizations who employ community college graduates recommend community college workforce education and training programs, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

Dr. Berotte Joseph's life is an extraordinary success story. She emigrated to the United States as a young girl with her family from Haiti, during the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. She was encouraged by her parents at an early age to be the best that she can and they instilled in her an ambition to be able to do anything she wanted.

Dr. Berotte Joseph developed an interest in education and languages. She earned her Bachelor's Degree (cum laude) in Spanish and Education from the York College of the City University of New York (CUNY), a Master's degree (magna cum laude) in bilingual education from Fordham University, and a Ph.D. in bilingual education and sociolinguistics from New York University. She is multilingual and speaks French, Spanish, English and Haitian Creole.

Dr. Berotte Joseph is active in the business and other communities as demonstrated by the 26 Boards of Directors she currently or has served on nationally and in Massachusetts and in New York. Nationally, she is currently on the board of the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs, the National Coalition for Haitian Rights and a Commissioner of the American Association of Community Colleges.

Her community service is exemplary. Dr. Berotte Joseph has received 14 higher education and community service awards and fellowships. The Kellogg Foundation selected her as a Fellow in the "League for Innovation in the Community College, Leadership Award Program. Highlights of other awards include the "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Outstanding Community Service", recipient of the "Haitian-American Connections Award" presented by the Ambassador of the United States of America to Haiti, "Educator of the Year: Gladys Correa Award" from the New York State Association for Bilingual Education and "Distinguished Educator of the Year Award" from the Haitian-American Alliance in New York.

Dr. Berotte Joseph lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband Andre Stines. She and her two daughters, Marjorie and Claudine, were featured in a book entitled "Nurturing Success: Successful Women of Color and their Daughters" published in 2000.

MassBay is an accredited two-year public educational institution. The College grants Associate Degrees and Certificates in a range of disciplines through its three Centers of Excellence: the Business, Engineering, Science and Technology Institute (BEST); the Health, Human Services and Education Institute (HHSEI) and the Liberal Arts Institute (LAI). Offering over 60 academic programs, MassBay serves Boston and the MetroWest communities with campuses in Wellesley Hills, Framingham and the Ashland Technology Center.