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Government and Community Relations

Speeches and Presentations

All College Day Address
R. Thomas Flynn
President
Monroe Community College
08/29/2001

Usually at All College Day, the President updates the College community on the status of the College - such as budget, enrollment and other such mundane topics. That is important information, but I am going to postpone that update until a later correspondence, which you will receive next month.

I am delaying that conversation because this is our 40th anniversary. I want us to spend time today reflecting upon the accomplishments that have resulted in this being one of the greatest community colleges in the country. What makes us different? What sets us apart from the thousands of other community colleges? I have given this much thought and have discussed it with many MCC faculty and administrators. It continues to come down to one thing - the MCC people.

The MCC family of the past and present has built an institution unparalleled in this country. We are a caring community and we recognize our responsibilities to our students and to the larger community we serve.

Another thing that sets us apart from so many institutions is that we have learned to understand the importance of building partnerships and collaborating within our institution as well as within our larger community. Within our institution, one of the most important levels of partnership building is between all of our governing entities - Faculty Senate, Faculty Association and CSEA. I see that improving every day, a trend that bodes well for MCC. Our internal collaboration also takes less formal but equally important formats; administrators, faculty, non-teaching professionals, staff, students and every stakeholder work together to fulfill our mission.

If I do have one concern for MCC, it is that in the past three years nearly 200 of our faculty and staff have retired or left our institution, and we have hired 360 new individuals. How do we ensure that we pass on the importance of our history and what has made us great?

In discussing this with some our distinguished retirees, their message to me was clear. They gave a lifetime of building MCC to make it the great institution it is. They expect all of us to keep MCC in the forefront of higher education, to continue being one of the best community colleges in the nation.

So, the charge to all of our new employees and, for that fact, to all of us who are MCC's future is to remember the past and understand how this College began. It was the unfaltering spirit of the College family that launched this College and continues to propel it forward so that it remains among the very best.

As we move into this 40th anniversary year, I am confident that we are well positioned to meet those charges. We are poised to maintain and advance our reputation for excellent teaching and quality programs. We are poised to be recognized as a true learner-centered college. One reason for my confidence is our new faculty and staff; I have met many of them and I have read all of their resumes. The quality of their experience and the degree of their commitment is outstanding. I know that I can count on all of our experienced faculty to assist our newcomers and help them gain the experience to become MCC's next generation of leaders.

And, if I can add one more observation, we need to discard an old paradigm. New faculty were often told to focus solely on teaching and ignore outside classroom activities. That is not in the faculty member's or MCC's best interest. We have seen how faculty involvement in cocurricular and extracurricular programs benefits students and enhances teaching and learning. So, to our new faculty, and for that matter, all faculty, I suggest that you get involved, just as these new faculty did:

  • In her first year Ilene Benz worked with colleague Betty Saunders, another relative newcomer, to organize MCC's first student speech contest. A great success!
  • Within her first years at MCC, Cathy Smith jumped on board to organize the first Poetry Month celebration, teaming up with 14-year veteran Kathy O'Shea. Ann Tippett, another relative newcomer, stepped in for the second Poetry Month last April. Both celebrations were comprehensive, community builders.
  • In his first year teaching at MCC, Stuart Slutsky organized our first high school culinary competition last spring, a great experience for high school students and a real "connecter" between MCC's culinary program and high school culinary programs throughout the area. The project also received significant media attention.
  • Holly Wynn, academic advisement specialist in Counseling and Testing, came to MCC in 1998 and immediately began helping Kathy O'Shea further develop a Liberal Arts Advisement Mentor Program. It was recognized as one of the League for Innovations outstanding programs in 1999.

As I ask you to ensure this College remains one of the very best, I recognize that we have a responsibility to provide opportunities to reflect upon or learn about our history. We trust today is such an opportunity.

As I noted, this year we mark the 40th anniversary of Monroe Community College - four decades. I've been here for three of those four decades. I can tell you that each was unique. Each decade had its own color - its own challenges and triumphs.

In the sixties, there was the excitement and spirit of creating something new - not just another college, but a community college. The seventies saw the evolution of student involvement and instances of student unrest. In the eighties, growth beyond anyone's expectations: more students, more programs. And the nineties saw us grow our campuses, and focus more than ever before on building partnerships and our role in economic development.

To share and celebrate our history this morning, I've invited a few MCC colleagues to help tell the story.

Hasn't this been an exciting program? It was good to hear our colleagues reminisce about the past.

As we close this 40th All College Day, I want to spend a few moments on the future.

I am very excited that we now have our senior leadership team in place - Vice Presidents Jeff Bartkovich, Janet Glocker, Chet Grzelak and Susan Salvador. I have extreme confidence in each of them and I know they share my leadership philosophy: one of our primary roles is to support each of you, to provide opportunities for you to excel in your work. I am pleased with the very positive working relationship we have with the Faculty Senate, Faculty Association union and CSEA. And, finally, I know our Trustees are poised to provide input and guidance that will permit us to continue to move forward.
I doubt if there is anyone in this room who doesn't recognize the rapidity of change that this nation is undergoing. I offer these facts from the Cato Institute:

  • The average worker with a $799 Pentium-chip laptop computer has more computing power at his fingertips than was contained in all the computers in the entire world during World War II.
  • One hundred years ago, all of the greatest mathematicians in the world did not have the problem-solving resources of today's fourth grader with a $19.95 Texas Instruments pocket calculator. Today the microchip contained in a single laptop computer has more computing power than all the computers used in all the universities across the country in 1950.
  • According to an analysis by Microsoft, if the automobile and aerospace technology had exploded at the same pace as computer and information technology, a new car would cost about $2 and go 600 miles on a thimble of gas. And you could buy a Boeing 747 for the cost of a pizza.

Let's look back just 10 years and note the changes that have taken place here at MCC. There was no SUNY Learning Network, no Dual Credit. Our operating budget was about $50 million compared to $80 million today. We had enrollment difficulties and the fund balance was almost minimal.

Can you imagine where we will be in the year 2010? What changes will have taken place? This 40th year anniversary may very well be kicking off a decade of the biggest boom yet in MCC's rich history. We currently have more than $40 million of new construction ready to take place - a new student center, new residence halls, and plans are being considered for another new campus.

Yes, you are aware of this rapid change in our environment and you can be assured that MCC will be ready to change just as rapidly for our community.

In a speech I made not long ago, I said to the audience of educators that in my opinion the next few years would provide outstanding opportunities and unparalleled growth in the field of higher education and training. In fact, I wish I were just entering higher education now, as many of you are. There are exciting times ahead.

Yes, I believe that MCC is poised to meet all the challenges which will be thrown our way and I know we will meet them with the same enthusiasm, dedication and commitment that will keep us the pride of this community. I thank each and every one of you for the commitment you make every day and look forward to working with you in this 40th year of MCC.

Let's have a great year!


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