Denis Boucher is the newly appointed program manager of NECC’s culinary and hospitality programs

As the newly appointed program manager of Northern Essex Community College’s culinary and hospitality programs, Denis Boucher is very interested in the progress being made on “The Heights”, a 10-story luxury building under construction on Merrimack St. in downtown Haverhill.

That’s because The Heights will include two floors dedicated to Northern Essex’s culinary and hospitality programs, and Boucher has been hired to monitor the construction as well as build noncredit and credit programs in these two growing fields.

The college currently offers an Associate of Science in Hospitality Management and is planning to offer a Culinary Arts Certificate Program, likely by the fall of 2020.

With extensive experience as a chef, restaurant manager, and culinary educator, Boucher is well qualified for the responsibilities of his new role.

As director of Tompkins Cortland Community College’s Coltivare in Ithaca, NY, he oversaw a similar project, successfully developing a sustainable culinary lab, restaurant, and event space.

“Denis’s background makes him uniquely qualified for this position,” said Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex.   “I’ve been to Coltivare and I was so impressed.  I can’t wait to see what he can do in downtown Haverhill.”

The college’s two floors will include classrooms, laboratories, and a teaching kitchen where credit courses and noncredit courses will be taught.  While the college won’t run its own restaurant, it will work closely with the full-service restaurant that will be located on the first floor of the building.

Born and raised in southern Maine, Boucher earned an associate degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Florida International University in Miami.

He spent 20-plus years as a chef and restaurant manager in Atlanta, Colorado, Miami, North Carolina, Maine, and Antarctica, where he served as a chef at the South Pole and Palmer scientific research stations.  He taught at the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in Montpelier Vermont from 2005 to 2014, receiving “Teacher of the Year” in 2006, and managed the institute’s restaurant for some of that time.

While his focus is now management and teaching, Boucher still enjoys cooking for family and friends, especially during the holidays.  “I love the farm to table and sustainability movement,” he says. “I love visiting farmers markets, like the one in downtown Haverhill, and picking up everything that’s fresh.”

To learn more, contact Boucher at dboucher@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3201.

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers more than 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, more than 5,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,600 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website at  www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.

Northern Essex Community College will hold an open house on Saturday, October 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Haverhill campus, 100 Elliot St., starting outside the Sport & Fitness Center.

Individuals interested in learning more about NECC’s academic programs, admissions process, or possible financial aid options, are invited to attend.

Northern Essex offers over 60 academic programs leading to associate degrees and certificates in areas such as healthcare, business, engineering, computer science, criminal justice, liberal arts, and much more.  Courses and programs are offered days, evenings, weekends, and online.

“If someone has been thinking about enrolling in college, this is a great opportunity to get an overview of what Northern Essex has to offer,” said Danny Richer, NECC’s director of recruitment and admissions.

Tours of the campus will be available and those interested can apply to Northern Essex on the spot. Bring along a friend or family members.

Northern Essex will host its homecoming that same day, and all are invited to participate.  There will be food, entertainment, games, sports, and children’s activities. The NECC Campus Classic 5Krace will be held earlier that day at 9 a.m.

For additional information contact enrollment services at 978-556-3700 or admissions@necc.mass.edu

AmeriCorps Vista Worker Elizabeth Mura stands in the Haverhill campus food closet.

Northern Essex recognizes that not all its students have refrigerators full of food or drawers full of clothes. With this in mind, food and clothing closets have been established on both the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses.

“We have all needed a little help at one time or another,” said Janel D’Agata-Lynch, coordinator of the civic engagement, service learning, and community resources program which oversees the closets.

The food closets are stocked with canned goods like tomatoes, tuna, soups, and hash, boxes of pasta, bags of quinoa and beans, and jars of peanut butter. Some toiletry items are also available, said D’Agata-Lynch. The clothes closet holds jeans in various sizes, tee shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants and packages of new socks and underwear. Just outside the doors of the closet is a large freezer holding frozen meals as well as loaves of bread and bagels.

The closets are located on the second floor of the Student Center in Haverhill and in Room 020 in the basement of the Dimitry Building in Lawrence.

The expanded food security options and clothing were made possible by partnerships with Bread & Roses of Lawrence, Fantini Bakery in Haverhill, Bagel Boy of Lawrence. Used clothes have been supplied by Ruth’s House in Haverhill and Debbie’s Treasure Chest in Lawrence while hangers were donated by EZ-Way Cleaners of Haverhill.

Even the NECC Knight is impressed with the food options in the food closet on the Lawrence campus.

D’Agata-Lynch and NECC alumna Elizabeth Mura, who is an AmeriCorps Vista member working at Northern Essex until next July are coordinating the closets with the help of volunteers. Her position is funded through a grant from Campus Compact They are seeking volunteers to assist in stocking and staffing the closets. Anyone who would like to make donations, please direct them to our community partners Bread & Roses, Debbie’s Treasure Chest, and Ruth’s House

D’Agata-Lynch encourages any student interested in learning more about the food and clothes closets should email her at Communityresources@necc.mass.edu. Volunteers are also welcome.

“There is no shame in needing support,” she said. “While this isn’t meant to suffice a student’s total needs, it provides us the opportunity to let the students what other resources are available to them in the community. We are proud of our students and how hard they work here at NECC.  We hope these services will help to alleviate any additional burdens they may be facing.”

The closets build on other food security initiatives already in place at NECC including the Farmer’s Market supported by the Greater Boston Food Bank and the pop-up peanut butter and jelly stations available across the campuses.

For additional information on Northern Essex’s food support, visit the webpage.

Health professions advisor Linda Comeau speaks with an NECC student in the new Health Professions@NECC Academic Center in the El-Hefni Center on the Lawrence campus.

When healthcare students reported for classes on the Lawrence campus this week, they were met with a nice surprise – The Center for Health Professions@NECC.

Located, temporarily, in L133 on the first floor of the Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center at 414 Common St., the new academic center is intended to serve as a “home away from home” said Kathy Welch Hudson, professor and department chair of the healthcare technology and ambulatory services programs.

“The center is meant to be a warm and inviting place for our health students to meet other students, use a computer, print a paper, charge a cell phone, connect with faculty, or make themselves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The new Health professions academic center in Lawrence is a welcoming space for students to recharge themselves as well as their cell phones.r

This center is the inaugural academic center on the Lawrence campus. Five centers, each designed to meet the needs of students in different educational disciplines, are opening on each campus. The academic centers are in keeping with the newly adopted Integrated Student Experience initiative intended to streamline the educational experience.

“We always worked to give our students a sense of connectedness,” Welch-Hudson says, “Now we can do it even better. We want to be able to put virtual arms around all of our health professions students and make sure they are taking the right classes, are on the right path, and have what they need to succeed.”

A Lunch & Learn Speaker Series will be introduced later this fall and potential employers will be invited in occasionally to make presentations, she says.

The Health Professions Academic Center will be open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For additional information contact centerforhealthprofessions@necc.mass.edu or call 978-655-5936.

Other academic centers that are already open on the Haverhill campus include business & accounting, liberal arts, professional studies, and STEM. Parallel academic centers will eventually be established on the Lawrence campus. For additional information on all the academic centers, visit the webpage.

NECC offers associate degrees and certificates in several health care fields including Business management: healthcare practice, exercise science, health fitness instructor, health specialization, nursing, paramedic technology, public health, radiologic technology, and respiratory care.