Press Release

Bunker Hill Community College Wins Major Endorsement for Biotechnology Courses

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The new biotechnology curriculum at Bunker Hill Community College is one of the first in the state to win a Silver endorsement from the new Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium. The Consortium’s endorsement of the College’s program acknowledges that it is successfully training students to work in biotechnology companies and allowing the state to keep a competitive edge.

To receive the endorsement, the College developed a new curriculum teaching core competencies, set by industry, for working in biotech. The curriculum includes: biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, immunology, bioinformatics and microbiology.

“This award is a unique example of higher education, the biotechnology industry and government working together to provide excellent educational opportunities for students,” said Dr. James F. Canniff, Bunker Hill Community College Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Services.

“The endorsement is the first step in the collaboration between industry and academia to raise the level of workforce preparedness,” said Lance Hartford, Executive Director of MassBioEd, a backer with MassBio of the new endorsement program.

Dr. Belinda L. Kadambi, Assistant Professor in the Science and Engineering Department, established the new program. “Dr. Kadambi was hired only a year ago as our new Coordinator of Biotechnology, but in this short time she has worked determinedly to meet the requirements for this certification,” said Robert L. Steeper, Professor and Chair of the Science and Engineering Department.

Media Contact:


About Bunker Hill Community College
Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts, enrolling approximately 18,000 students annually. BHCC has two campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, and a number of other locations throughout the Greater Boston area. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Sixty-five percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls nearly 600 international students who come from 94 countries and speak more than 75 languages.