MCC News
We Are a Model (11/18/2018)
Recently, MCC Faculty Senate President Amanda Colosimo publicly shared her opinion that our College is, in her words, “kind of a mess.” While she is entitled to express her thoughts, her comments do a terrible disservice to an outstanding and extraordinary institution.
As MCC’s President, I must speak out on behalf of the remarkable students, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and community and business leaders who dedicate themselves to making MCC—inside and out—a state and national leader.
The markers of our College’s quality and excellence would fill books (which could be housed in our award-winning library by award-winning librarians), so I will share just a few recent highlights.
MCC is in the top 3 percent of more than 1,100 community colleges in the country in graduating students with associate degrees.
MCC’s overall employee retention rate is 95%; for faculty, it is even higher, 97%.
MCC’s academic programs offer students incredible opportunities to expand their learning outside the classroom. Whether in robotics or drone competitions; study-abroad in Israel, Iceland, or Italy; field work in the Grand Canyon of the East (Letchworth State Park) or the Grand Canyon itself; or service learning in Rochester K-12 classrooms—our students’ experiences expand their understanding of the world and enhance their skills.
MCC led SUNY’s $14.6 million advanced manufacturing grant that trained over 3,500 NYS workers, and now leads the Finger Lakes $6M NY Inspire grant, connecting residents to high demand, skilled employment, helping our region and local families prosper. To date, NY Inspire has trained over 766 participants.
MCC leads the state and nation in addressing real-world challenges—including food insecurity, transportation and child-care needs—that impact student success.
MCC’s Foundation, thanks to the generosity of our community, provides over $1.4 million in student scholarships annually and supports valuable programs, including Dreamkeepers financial emergency grants.
MCC’s facilities—from our Downtown Campus to our optics labs, from our theatre to our surgical technology suite, from our athletic facilities to our automotive tech labs—are state of the art. Our College is opening a new biology lab and beginning renovations of all chemistry labs, an investment in STEM that exceeds $4.7M million.
Add to this the following: MCC has one of the lowest tuition rates of all SUNY community colleges, allowing nearly half of our students to graduate with little-to-no student debt.
No, MCC is not a mess. We are a model.
Every day, we rededicate ourselves to assuring that our College does our community proud. Our students—and you—deserve nothing less.
---Anne M. Kress, President, Monroe Community College
Media Contact:
Cynthia Mapes
Government and Community Relations
585-292-3022
cmapes@monroecc.edu