{"id":23354,"date":"2022-01-04T16:24:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-04T21:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:29:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:29:55","slug":"necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Daniel Coleman, medical advisor for the college’s Respiratory Care Program<\/p><\/div>\n

Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (January 6, 2022)-In the late 1980s, Dr. Eric Dickson was in the Army Reserve and a student in the Respiratory Care Program<\/a> at Northern Essex Community College.\u00a0 He was admittedly unsure of what direction his future would take and open to guidance.<\/p>\n

Dr. Daniel\u00a0Coleman of Andover, a pulmonologist and his respiratory care professor, recognized the young man\u2019s potential and suggested that he consider becoming a physician.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t something he had considered, but Dickson was intrigued. After earning his associate degree in respiratory care from Northern Essex in 1988, he went on to get a master\u2019s degree from Harvard University and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, fulfilling the promise that Coleman had noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe (Dr. Coleman) was the first person in my life who recommended that I go to medical school and become a doctor. His mere suggestion in that moment started my career trajectory, which culminated in my current role\u2026I\u2019ll always be grateful for Dr. Coleman\u2019s encouragement that led me to where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n

A resident of Princeton, MA, Dickson is now CEO of Worcester\u2019s UMass Memorial Health<\/a>, the third largest health care system in Massachusetts, employing over 16,500 individuals. He has guided his health care system through the global pandemic and been a leading voice in the Commonwealth\u2019s battle against COVID 19.<\/p>\n

He recently demonstrated his gratitude toward his former professor by helping the college to endow a scholarship in Coleman\u2019s honor. He challenged the community to match his pledge of $10,000 as part of a campaign that was announced in February of 2021.<\/p>\n

The response to his challenge has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n

The permanently endowed scholarship fund is now over $70,000 and donations are still being accepted.<\/p>\n

In addition to Dr. Dickson\u2019s contribution, the fund has received support from respiratory care alumni and the local community, including hospitals, medical offices, and colleagues of Dr. Coleman\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Donations were also received in honor of NECC alumna Becky Centrella, \u201917, a respiratory care graduate who served on NECC\u2019s Respiratory Care Advisory Board, before passing away in 2021. A resident of Merrimack, Becky worked at Beth Israel Medical Deaconess Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dr. Eric Dickson ’88, CEO, UMass Memorial Health Care<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI wanted to offer this scholarship at NECC so that other students might be offered the same opportunity to learn and grow like I did,\u201d Dickson says. \u201c\u2026Through a giving challenge, $100 becomes $200 and so on. I believe people are more likely to donate if they feel their investment might trigger a second donation and build upon the initial funding goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retired from his private pulmonary practice in North Andover since 2020, Coleman continues to serve as the medical advisor for NECC\u2019s Respiratory Care Program, a position which he has held for 35 years.\u00a0 He has been on the faculty at Tufts University School of Medicine since 1989.<\/p>\n

As medical advisor to the NECC program, Coleman provides student lectures, which he does purely for the love of teaching. \u201cI still get a kick out of coming in, and do my best to make the lectures entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Quincy, MA, Coleman attended Georgetown University School of Medicine and served in the US Air Force.\u00a0 He was Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Andrews Air Force Base Medical Center.\u00a0 Following active duty, he returned to Massachusetts, joining a pulmonary practice in North Andover.\u00a0 He remained an Air National Guard colonel, and became the State Air Surgeon for MA in 1993. \u00a0He and his wife live in Andover, and raised their three children there (two of whom are Georgetown Medicine grads).<\/p>\n

Over the years, Coleman has enjoyed watching his students succeed in their careers. \u201cSome have gone on to be department heads here and in New Hampshire\u2026 When I left Lawrence General, many of my former students were senior therapists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Eric Dickson stands out over the years. \u201cHe\u2019s been impressive for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Essex offers an Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Care. Respiratory therapists work closely with physicians and nurses to manage lung and breathing disorders, and evaluate and treat patients to help them recover lung function. The program prepares you to work at the therapist level.<\/p>\n

The scholarship will be awarded to a respiratory care student in the spring of 2022.<\/p>\n

Permanently endowed NECC scholarships, with naming opportunities and criteria restrictions, can be created with a minimum commitment of $25,000. To learn more about creating an endowed scholarship or contributing to the Dr. Daniel Coleman Scholarship, contact Lindsay Graham, director of annual giving and alumni relations,\u00a0lgraham@necc.mass.edu.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the college\u2019s Respiratory Care Program, contact Jennifer Jackson Stevens, program coordinator,\u00a0jjacksonstevens@necc.mass.edu\u00a0or visit the website.<\/p>\n

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers\u00a0approximately\u00a060\u00a0associate degree and certificate programs\u00a0as well as hundreds of\u00a0noncredit courses\u00a0designed for personal enrichment and career growth.\u00a0 Each year,\u00a06,000\u00a0students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and\u00a0another 2,000\u00a0take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.\u00a0 For more information, visit the website at\u00a0necc.edu\u00a0or call 978-556-3700.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A physician and head of one of the largest health care systems in MA, NECC alum Eric Dickson is now honoring his professor with a scholarship in his name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":25169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,19],"tags":[55,59],"class_list":["post-23354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-stories","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-story"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A physician and head of one of the largest health care systems in MA, NECC alum Eric Dickson is now honoring his professor with a scholarship in his name.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-04T21:24:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T19:29:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1235\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1606\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/\",\"name\":\"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-04T21:24:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-13T19:29:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg\",\"width\":1235,\"height\":1606},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"NECC News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\",\"name\":\"Ernie Greenslade\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ernie Greenslade\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News","og_description":"A physician and head of one of the largest health care systems in MA, NECC alum Eric Dickson is now honoring his professor with a scholarship in his name.","og_url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/","og_site_name":"NECC News","article_published_time":"2022-01-04T21:24:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-13T19:29:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1235,"height":1606,"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ernie Greenslade","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ernie Greenslade","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/","name":"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor - NECC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-01-04T21:24:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-13T19:29:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/Dr.-Coleman-1.jpg","width":1235,"height":1606},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/01\/04\/necc-alum-creates-scholarship-in-honor-of-andover-pulmonologist-his-former-professor\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NECC Alum Creates Scholarship in Honor of Andover Pulmonologist, his Former Professor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"NECC News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9","name":"Ernie Greenslade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ernie Greenslade"},"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23354"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33114,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23354\/revisions\/33114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}