Skip to main content


Repost Message will copy the article into draft mode and enable you to edit/change dates and information.
Do not change the dates of this posting because it will affect the original.

MCC Daily Tribune

Dean Margaret Kaminsky to Represent Faculty at the 2024 Commencement as the Faculty Marshal

Leading the ceremony for Monroe Community College’s 2024 Commencement will be Faculty Marshal Margaret Kaminsky. In her role as Faculty Marshal, Dean Kaminsky (STEM and Health), who was Chair of the Chemistry-Geosciences Department at MCC before joining the administration, will represent MCC faculty as the macebearer and lead the faculty processional.

Margaret Kaminsky has served as the Dean of STEM and Health since August 1, 2019. She has provided leadership and support to the seven academic departments of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, Engineering Science and Physics, Health Professions, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, and Nursing, as well as to the grant-funded programs Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), and several health-related grant projects.

Dean Kaminsky graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a M.S. in Chemistry. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Sciences and Resource Management from Lehigh University.

Following a 15-year career as a tenured high school biology teacher, Dean Kaminsky began her MCC career as an adjunct instructor of chemistry, teaching Preparatory Chemistry and General, Organic, and Biochemistry. Finding the community college to be her true academic home, she pursued a full-time, tenure-track position and rose through the ranks to tenured associate professor. Highlights of her career include the development of writing lab materials, helping to shape the Science for Future Teachers course, establishing Chemistry of Indulgence as a general education course at the Damon City Campus, serving on the Teaching and Creativity Center Advisory Committee, and serving as a coach for two Xerox-grant-funded Summer Teaching Institutes focused on active and collaborative learning. She faithfully served on College-wide committees, including those for Middle States Standard 13; position searches; and departmental rank, tenure, and promotion. She was also her department’s adjunct coordinator.

In 2015, Dean Kaminsky was elected Chair of the Chemistry and Geosciences Department, a role in which she embraced the opportunity to support the faculty and staff in their teaching, student engagement, curriculum, assessment, grants, and field work. During her time as chair, the chemistry labs received their first renovation since being built in the 1960s and are now beautiful, functional, and modern. While chair, Margaret became involved with the New York State Canal Society as the Department co-sponsored the annual Spring Canal Symposium, continuing a long-standing partnership instituted by late Professor Emeritus Thomas V. Grasso.

In the dean role, Margaret Kaminsky was able to draw on College-wide relationships and knowledge to support her departments and programs through the many challenges of the COVID pandemic lockdown and eventual return to campus. She served on the Strategic Planning Leadership Team, which led the development of Vision2027, and co-chaired two Aspen Unlocking Opportunities committees: Program Mapping and Gateway English and Math Success. She has supported Guided Pathways initiatives, particularly in mathematics—work that continued when she was invited to join the New York State team for the Launch Years Initiative, a national math pathways effort focusing on math pathways from high school to college to career. On a lighter note, she twice led MCC’s team for Literacy Volunteers’ Brain Game fundraiser, finishing second in 2023.

As she embarks on this new chapter of life, Dean Kaminsky plans to continue singing in the MCC College Chorus and playing steelpans (or steel drums) with Steel Alchemy Community Steelband. She hopes to spend more time with her family and friends, and to travel, kayak, and hike.

Her legacy at MCC will be one of never-ending support, guidance, and positive change.

Please join me in congratulating Faculty Marshal Margaret Kaminsky on her dedication to MCC, her colleagues, our students, and members of our community as she transitions into the next phase of her rich life. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dean Kaminsky for her unwavering commitment to excellence in education. She has been a true inspiration to us all, and we are honored to have had the privilege of working alongside her.

Michael Jacobs
Acting Provost and Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs
05/10/2024