Dr. Anne Kress to Head Monroe Community College

By Bud Lowell

Rochester, NY – Monroe Community College has a new president -- and this time, the choice was unanimous.

Doctor Anne Kress will become MCC's fifth president on July 6th. She's the first woman to head the Rochester-area's community college. Nearly the entire MCC board of trustees rushed to second her nomination by MCC Board Chairman Kenneth Goode. The announcement of Doctor Kress's name produced a standing ovation from a large crowd of MCC faculty, students and local officials.

There were no cheers a year ago when faculty and students at the college were organizing to protest against a search process they believed was influenced by politics. That search was suspended, and a new one started with two new search committees. This time, there was heavy involvement from faculty, college employees and students.

Doctor Kress said she wasn't affected by last year's controversy and the issue didn't come up in her talks with faculty and other groups at MCC.

Kress will take over from Interim President Larry Tyree. Her appointment still needs to be ratified by the State University Board of Regents.

Doctor Kress is currently provost and vice-president for academic affairs at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida -- a slightly smaller school with a similar mission. She was one of three finalists named by the two search committees.

MCC Trustee John Parinello says he and other board members realized she was the right choice soon into their first meeting. He said "she'll be fantastic."

Goode said all three finalists were well qualified, but he was sold on Doctor Kress by her understanding of the role played by community colleges in workforce and economic development

Kress says her first job will be to do a lot of listening to the college and the Rochester community. She says MCC and all community colleges are playing an increasingly important role in higher education as the cost of traditional colleges rise, and as people want to increase their earning potential through more education.

Although she's spent much of her career in Florida, Doctor Kress is a Milwaukee native. She's moving to Rochester with her husband, Ned Davis, and their two young children.