We are proud to introduce The Northeast Connecticut Education Foundation (NCEF), a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is: To provide scholarships and other financial support to residents of Northeast Connecticut who want to pursue higher education. With this announcement, we also want to explain how this new entity came to be.
Quinebaug Valley Community College (QVCC), which was an independent community college, merged with the eleven former state community colleges in 2023, and is now one college under the banner of “CT State.” QVCC’s new name is CT State Quinebaug Valley. Following the former QVCC Foundation’s bylaws, we could not continue as the QVCC Foundation (as there is no longer a “QVCC”) and subsequently dissolved.
The new NCEF Board of Directors is vested in Northeast Connecticut and believes in the importance of higher education. The board of directors includes President Joseph Adiletta, Vice President Peter Deary, Treasurer Christian Sarantopoulos, Secretary Gail Rooke-Norman, and members at large, Marc Archambault, William Brower, Pam Brown, Edward Graff, Rusty Haines, Joseph Markley, Diana Rose, Elle Jordyn Sherman, and John Xeller.
The NCEF remains very committed to CT State Quinebaug Valley Danielson and Willimantic. A few examples of named endowments which show the breadth and depth of ongoing support include: The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center Fund; The Quinebaug Valley Foundation Fund which supports an annual block grant to Financial Aid at the college; The Faculty and Staff Fund, which allows students who otherwise could not take part in extracurricular opportunities to do so; and The Steven ’23 and Marjolaine ’87,’88 Scholarship which supports at least 27 students annually with life-changing scholarships.
Steve Townsend shared his belief in the NCEF’s ability to transform lives, “As former QVCC students and long-time residents of Northeast CT, my wife and I are proud to continue to offer scholarships at Quinebaug Valley through the NCEF. Our hope is that the students who receive our scholarships will one day be able to pay it forward and help others achieve their educational goals.”
Steve Lapointe, Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC) at Quinebaug Valley, spoke of how impactful Foundation funds are. “Not only do AMTC students benefit from Foundation support, but so do our many business and industry partners. The students at the AMTC are the workforce of our local manufacturing economy. The NCEF is an important resource for our school and the community.”
As we say goodbye to the QVCC Foundation and get moving to grow our impact, our focus remains on helping even more students pursue their higher education dreams. For 2025, scholarships are limited to NECT residents attending CT State with Quinebaug Valley as their home campus.
We hope you will continue to help us accomplish this life-changing mission.