Massachusetts gives $155 million bond to private college, as campus president slams Trump for ‘attacks’ on DEI

The Bay State is giving a million bond to a private college as the campus leader rips President Trump for his attacks on DEI MassDevelopment issued a million tax-exempt bond to Mount Holyoke College for a campus renewal project on Monday the same day that Mount Holyoke College President Danielle Holley slammed Trump in an op-ed The leader of the Western Mass women s college in her San Francisco Chronicle op-ed noted the legacy of Frances Perkins class of the first woman to serve in a U S presidential cabinet The issues that preoccupied Perkins remain urgent in the modern day as attacks on diversity equity inclusion and accessibility are escalating under President Donald Trump Holley wrote She cited new federal actions to remove references to race and gender in leadership materials investigate universities for alleged race-based preferences and cut funding for research focused on gender and inclusion At Mount Holyoke we just now received notice that one of our grants had been cut the letter from the federal regime asserted in plain terms that research related to gender is neither beneficial nor scientific Holley wrote These are direct attempts to reverse decades of progress for women people of color disabled people LGBTQ communities immigrants and others long denied full access to inhabitants and academic life Holley added DEI isn t a buzzword It is the mechanism by which we identify and remove systemic blockades just as Perkins did from within the highest levels of leadership Frances Perkins didn t back down Neither will we Meanwhile on Monday the state s enhancement finance agency and land bank declared the million bond for the upgrade project at Mount Holyoke College The work includes the campus transition to geothermal potential and its residence hall renovations This is an assets in the future of Mount Holyoke College as a leading academic institution and contributor to the Western Massachusetts economic system Economic Evolution Secretary Eric Paley who serves as chair of MassDevelopment s board noted in a declaration Schools like Mount Holyoke play a critical role advancing our state s workforce and we look forward to seeing how this campus renewal project creates a more modernized sustainable place for students to live learn and discover Paley added The geothermal exchange project includes the drilling of geothermal exchange wells and the purchase of heat pumps and related potential equipment The institution will also use bond proceeds to fund other strategic improvement projects on its campus such as renovations to its residence halls and key academic buildings as well as refinance previously issued debt The tax-exempt bond was purchased by TD Bank The new bond will help fund MHC s bold multi-year comprehensive campus plan commented Carl Ries VP of Finance and Administration at Mount Holyoke College We are consistently ranked as one of the majority beautiful college campuses in America The College is building upon that legacy by elevating our instructional and academic halls and classrooms renovating our residence halls and replacing our -year-old fossil fuel heating system with an efficient scalable and modern infrastructure Ries added This is an outlay in our campus our students and the western Massachusetts district Related Articles Trump sets off for the Mideast to mark a ceasefire deal and urge Arab leaders to seize the moment Massachusetts congressman admits polarized Congress isn t working Trump vows to pay troops Editorial Trump Hegseth wage war on woke Howie Carr Jimmy Kimmel s clown show demise long overdue ICE sweeps part of Patriot focus on sanctuary cities like Boston In the campus president s op-ed she contends that dismantling DEI efforts would reverse decades of progress for marginalized groups and undermine the purpose of higher learning DEI is not separate from excellence It is the engine of it Holley wrote Dismantling it would be to deny not only the demands of this day s students but the hard-won legacy of those like Perkins who demanded a more just America We will not retreat We will teach We will build And like Frances Perkins we will lead President Donald Trump hold up an anti-DEI memorandum signed January in the White House Photo by Chip Somodevilla Getty Images File