More than 100 state, municipal, and community leaders met at Naugatuck Valley Community College on January 11 for the college’s annual Leadership Breakfast. The event focused upon state and local issues for the upcoming 2018 Connecticut General Assembly session.

The theme of “Challenging Transitions” surfaced topics such as the importance of united relationships, economic development, state mandates, education as a bridge to upward mobility, community needs, adapting to change, and the proposed operational consolidation of the state’s 12 community colleges and what impact that might have on students and communities.

Program speakers were: Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary; State Representatives Rosa Rebimbas (R-Naugatuck) and Geraldo Reyes, Jr. (D-Waterbury); and Town of Middlebury First Selectman Edward St. John.

NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D. traced the growth of the college and its responsiveness to regional needs. She pointed to the opening of NVCC’s on-campus food pantry and the college’s recent national invitation to compete for the $1-million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

She announced new grant funding for the fourth Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence in African dance, and four Upward Bound grants totaling over $5 million during the next five years. She also reaffirmed that whatever the question--education is the answer.

NVCC accounting student Dominic Frasca shared a heartfelt story about his transition from being a poor student to enrolling in higher education. He spoke of the significance of the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship in providing him a second chance for success.

Legislators noted the severity and complexity of state’s budget crisis, and the need to reach across the aisle to address it. Some municipal leaders asked legislators to reduce state mandates which they felt increased their local costs. Economic development is the key to spur job growth, they added. Speakers complimented NVCC’s critical and successful role as an engine of change in the region.

The meeting included comments from State Senators Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury) and George Logan (R-Ansonia); State Representatives Jeffrey Berger (D-Waterbury), Larry Butler (D-Waterbury), Arthur O’Neill (R-Southbury), and Lezlye Zupkus (R-Prospect); and First Selectmen Christopher Bielik (D-Beacon Falls) and Jeffrey Manville (R-Southbury).