Diversity & Inclusion

Since 2016, POW! WOW! Worcester has put up murals around the city for the public to interact with. After five August festivals, including a 2021 return after a 2020 break with the coronavirus pandemic, the community organization is looking to its longevity.

Amidst economic uncertainty, Massachusetts will soon become the eighth state to operate the Restaurant Meals Program, a pilot program allowing select restaurants and food trucks to accept SNAP benefits.

Worcester’s Assumption University has named Brenda Hunt as its first director of ALANA (African-, Latino/Hispanic-, Asian, and Native American) and first-generation student success where she will oversee the university’s Cross-Cultural Center and facilitate access to campus resources and lead retention efforts for students of color.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has renamed itself the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education, to more accurately portray its role going forward.

Nearly six years after voters approved legalizing recreational marijuana and almost four years since legal sales began, Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law the first major step of its kind by state government to bolster the nascent industry and tear down obstacles that its participants face.

On Aug. 1, Holy Cross eliminated the $60 application fee for students from Worcester Public Schools, the college announced Wednesday.

Framingham State University announced on Thursday that it will receive $1.7 million over three years to fund a residency program in the city’s public schools from the Boston-based Massachusetts Service Alliance, a nonprofit state affiliate of the federal agency, AmeriCorps.

With their first Worcester branch set to open next month at 81 Gold Star Blvd., Chase Bank, the consumer banking division of New York City based JPMorgan Chase, told WBJ that it plans to open three additional branches in the Worcester area.

Lancaster human-services nonprofit RFK Community Alliance, has hired Jessica Pepple to be the organization's first chief diversity and culture officer.

Worcester insurer Fallon Health has named an executive from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, as well as a real estate and finance leader, to its board of directors.