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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Note: Because I’ll be traveling next week, I took this chance to write a longer Wednesday Message.

A central goal since my first day at MCC has been to bring more attention to the fantastic work that happens each day at our college. Wherever, whenever discussions about what’s working in higher education take place, MCC should be a part of the conversation—our programs, practices, initiatives should shape the agenda and the outcome. If you were to pull a week from my calendar—or, for that matter, from the calendars of any of the vice presidents—you would quickly sense that MCC’s status as a leading community college is more than secure. Sometimes, it seems we are everywhere, all at once! To demonstrate, here’s a sample week from my calendar (not including all the internal meetings/activities over this same time period). Here goes:

September 20-21 / AACC 21st Century Strategic Implementation Team: Finalize a draft of principles of developmental education design as part of the follow-up to AACC’s “Reclaiming the American Dream” report. MCC's Academic Foundations practices directly influenced the definition of these national principles, which will be launched during the spring AACC conference.

September 21 / New York Community College Trustee Annual Gala: Attend to support two MCC honorees, Board Vice Chair Grace Tillinghast and Mahany Welding CEO Mike Krupnicki. Both are recognized for their leadership on behalf of the College and our students, and in a room of honorees, they are the two who are mobbed by well-wishers after the ceremonies end.

September 23 / National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship: Call to prepare for my participation on a keynote panel at the upcoming NACCE Conference. When the invitation was extended by Inside Higher Ed blogger Matt Reed ("Confessions of a Community College Dean”), his opener was, “MCC is really the national leader in advancing community colleges on so many fronts.” Yep, that’s us!

September 24 / Rundel Public Library: Reviewed Jeffrey Selingo’s College (Un)Bound for about 70 patrons at the public library. At the end of the Q&A, I pull a name of an attendee who will win a copy of the book. It turns out to be Jane Schuster, grandmother of MCC alum and current Cornell student Saul Schuster. She promptly turns to the audience to give a heartfelt testimonial about MCC. Truly an “Inspiring Every Day.” moment!

September 24 / WXXI 1370 Connection: Join RBA President Sandy Parker and GRE President Mark Peterson to speak on the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development plan update with a specific emphasis on a new requirement, the Opportunity Agenda. The central project in the Opportunity Agenda, which seeks to increase economic opportunity within a distressed neighborhood, is led by MCC.

September 26 / Opportunity Nation Blog: MCC’s partnership with Hillside Work-Scholarship to increase student success is highlighted by Opportunity Nation—a national, bipartisan campaign to increase opportunity and economic mobility in the US (https://www.opportunitynation.org). MCC has been asked to join the ON leadership council based on our work on regional economic and education efforts.

September 27 / ETS National Community College Advisory Council: Get a full morning to share MCC’s ground-breaking leadership of and innovative work on the SUNY Department of Labor grant. Part of that grant includes a partnership with ETS through which they will create new workforce readiness assessment tools, yet another first for MCC.

September 27 / MCC Student Life and Leadership Retreat: Zip from the airport out to Livonia to bring it back home to what matters most, our students! Spend the evening discussing leadership in practice with our remarkable campus leaders and respond to their questions and concerns on every topic from technology to advising to transportation. What shines through clearly is their enthusiasm about MCC and their deep appreciation of our faculty and staff—such a fantastic way to end a Friday!

This list suggests how and why our College has such an extraordinary impact locally and such a big footprint nationally: we are at once comprehensively complex and tightly focused. The connections that trace out from MCC in this week alone, lead to educational policy and career pathways, to top tier academic research and influential DC advocates: they are broad and deep and reflect all aspects of MCC. Yet, each is also tightly focused on a single point: how can we work—each day—to improve opportunities and outcomes for our students whether in the classroom today or in their careers tomorrow, whether in the College or in the community.

My calendar is not unique or special. The work all of us do rolls up to support both the college’s vision, “Monroe Community College will champion opportunity, innovation, and excellence to transform lives and communities,” and mission:

Monroe Community College is a dynamic learning community where access, excellence, and leadership are the College’s hallmarks. Our mission is to educate and prepare diverse learners to achieve scholarly, professional, and individual success within a local and global context. The College serves as a catalyst for innovation, economic development, lifelong learning, and civic engagement.

In the next couple weeks, I hope you’ll spend a few moments to share connections you’ve made—or seen others make—that help MCC “transform lives and communities.” Start now: leave a message on the blog.

    Anne M. Kress
    Office of the President
    10/02/2013