Dr. Patricia A. Gentile’s eight years as North Shore Community College president seem like 20 years with all the significant changes the college has undergone since 2013.
The college’s Lynn campus added a bold new facade and entrance courtyard during Dr. Gentile’s tenure with Lynn’s state legislative delegation playing a crucial role in this major construction project.
But the biggest changes happened inside the college’s offices, hallways and classrooms where Dr. Gentile led a transformation effort built around thoroughly understanding the needs and goals of people enrolling in North Shore.
Dr. Gentile retires on July 6 as the college’s fourth president. When she started her job in 2013, she knew very little about Lynn and about Massachusetts.
One of her first moves was meeting with officials from communities that surrounded NSCC. They weren’t all interested, Dr. Gentile told Item writer Steve Krause, in greeting her warmly.
“Joan Lovely (state senator from Salem) was, well, lovely,” she said. “At the time, Tom McGee was the state senator, and he welcomed me. But Steve Walsh (who was the state representative from Lynn) wasn’t quite that way. He was pretty direct. He told me exactly what the college was not doing, and how the partnership between the college and Lynn was not good.
“I was glad he was honest,” said Dr. Gentile. “I’d rather know. After he was done, I simply told him, ‘I’ll fix it.'”
She kept her promise. She launched an initiative to cater the college’s curriculum to student’s needs. One of the ways the college did that was through the “Communiversity” program that allows high school students to achieve college credits while still in school.
She also expanded North Shore’s involvement in the community around the college by actively contributing to the wider network of schools and non-profit agencies that make up the bulk of what has become known as the Lynn Education District.
North Shore Community also participated in the “Year Up” program, which matches talented young adults with top companies to help further careers and opportunities, she said.
Dr. Gentile faced perhaps her the toughest challenge of her presidency in March when coronavirus closed down gathering areas, including classrooms. Faculty and administrators switched to online education and student support methods and her successor, Nate Bryant, will take the college’s helm to organize the college’s fall semester.
We salute Dr. Patricia A. Gentile and we know we are not alone in appreciating North Shore Community College’s transformation during her tenure as president.
