August 24, 2018

Elms College to bestow 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award on Maureen Holland

REGIONAL
Staff report

Maureen Holland (IObserve photo/courtesy of Elms College)

CHICOPEE – The College of Our Lady of the Elms will honor Maureen Holland ’85, the current director of the college’s social work program, with the 2018 Sister Margaret James McGrath Distinguished Alumni Award.

The award, presented annually to Elms College alumni who have made notable contributions in their lives professionally, spiritually, intellectually, personally, and through their loyalty to the college, will be presented to Holland during the college’s opening convocation ceremony on Sept. 26.

“Professor Holland’s leadership in her intellectual pursuits and loyalty to the college are hallmarks of her living the mission of the College of Our Lady of the Elms,” said Joyce Hampton, dean of student success at Elms. “Maureen is an outstanding educator dedicated to intellectual pursuits, and a loyal alumna dedicated to the mission of this college.”

Holland graduated from Elms with honors in a double major of social work and Spanish. As a practicing social worker, she has made significant contributions both in and beyond the Elms College community. Both at the college and in her community practice, Holland has worked hard to improve the quality of life for people who are vulnerable, poor, and marginalized.

“Professor Holland brought her abiding commitment and service to the community, learned through her years as a student at Elms College, back to the Elms when she joined the faculty,” Hampton said. “In this role, she has worked tirelessly to build connections for our students and faculty with our community partners, always looking at how to unite neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God, without distinction.”

Through Holland’s leadership, Elms College’s offsite Saturday programs have been expanded to include social work programs at Springfield Technical Community College, Greenfield Community College, Berkshire Community College, and Asnuntuck Community College. “These programs have brought students into social work who might not have had an opportunity to pursue an education,” said Miguel Arce, adjunct professor of social work at Elms.

She also was instrumental in establishing Elms College’s partnership with Saint Louis University to offer a master of social work degree that will expand career opportunities for area residents.

Holland represents the faculty on the college’s board of trustees, and has also served as a faculty leader for campus ministry mission trips to Nicaragua over the past four years, giving students hands-on experience in living the mission of Elms College.

In addition to her teaching, advising, and leadership in the Elms College community, Holland brings a wide range of talents and experience to her work in her numerous civic and public pursuits.

For 25 years, she has served in various roles at the New North Citizens Council. This organization works to provide advocacy, public, and human services to Hampden County residents to enhance the preservation and support of the family, with an emphasis on the Hispanic/Latino community. She has used her social work skills to empower and support community members as they formed important social services such as the New North Citizens Council Children and Family Center, which has a partnership service agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

“Her work positioned this nonprofit, charitable, minority business enterprise to have custodial responsibility of children in the care of the commonwealth, and helped create a cadre of Spanish-speaking foster and adoptive homes, as well as the first bilingual childcare center,” Arce said.

Holland has teamed with various community agencies – the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts and the Kosciuszko Foundation, among others – to bring educational programming to Elms students, faculty, and staff, as well as the community at large. These programs include the Polish Film Festival, the “Forbidden Art” exhibit from Auschwitz, the play “Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Story,” and more. Holland has also provided staff development activities to Soldier On, the Children’s Study Home, and the Young Women’s Christian Association.

“Maureen’s dedication to the North End community of Springfield has been unwavering over the years,” said Sherry A. Manyak, executive director of the Chicopee Council on Aging. “I have seen firsthand her concern and commitment to that community. When a fire broke out in the North End and displaced families, Maureen was there to offer guidance and comfort. During these emergency situations it was not unusual for Maureen to show up on the scene with bags of clothes, food, and toys for the children affected.”

Holland’s long career of service began during her time as an Elms student in the early 1980s. As a student, she traveled to Colombia with Sister of St. Joseph Jane Morrissey, to work on building hope in a community that dealt with poor health, education, food access, and housing. Seeing how useful Spanish would be to her career as a social worker, she decided to double major in social work and Spanish. In addition, she and other students, as well as her instructor and a group of Sisters of St. Joseph, protested the demolition of St. Martha’s and the reduction of affordable housing in Holyoke.