During a regular Board meeting on May 9, the Montcalm Community College Board of Trustees approved a motion to appoint MCC Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Connie Stewart as interim president of the college, effective July 1 for one year.

Stewart will succeed President Stacy H. Young, Ph.D., who recently was named president of her alma mater, Manchester University in Indiana.

“I am appreciative that the Board of Trustees selected me to assist with this transition,” Stewart said. “I am deeply committed to serving the community and continuing to uphold MCC’s mission of transforming lives through quality education.

“MCC has an exceptional team of faculty and staff, and I look forward to supporting them as they continue their good work,” Stewart said.

MCC Board of Trustees Chairperson Karen Carbonelli said appointing Stewart as the interim president will provide consistent leadership while the college seeks a new top leader.

“One of the things I like about Connie is that she has been in leadership positions at the college for 12 years and has experience in many areas of the college’s operations,” Carbonelli said. “She has always done a top-notch job. As vice president, Connie helped build and implement the college’s strategic plan and under her leadership, the college will continue to work to achieve the goals set forth in this plan.

“Connie has been a resident of Montcalm County for most of her life and is an MCC alumna. She has deep knowledge of the college and our community,” Carbonelli said. “She worked closely with our previous president as well as our current president and is very knowledgeable about the business of operating the college.

“We feel like it’s a natural fit for Connie to provide leadership at the presidential level as we navigate this transition,” Carbonelli said.

Stewart has 36 years’ experience working in accounting, human resources and high-level executive positions. She joined MCC in 2011 after working at Hitachi Magnetics Corporation for 16 years and eight years at Morbark Industries.

In her current role, she leads five divisions of the college: business office, facilities (recreation and athletics), financial aid, human resources and information technology services. She has been involved in small renovations at the college as well as the recent renovation of the Kenneth J. Smith Building on the college’s Sidney campus.

In addition, she has been involved in strategic planning, facilities master planning, and serves as assistant treasurer on the Board of Trustees board as well as the MCC Foundation board. She is the Title IX and FOIA Coordinator for the college and serves as co-chair of the college’s Emergency Management Leadership Team.

Stewart is an MCC alumna, earning her Associate Degree in Business Administration in 1993. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Development from Spring Arbor in 2002 and her MBA from Western Governors University in 2013.  She maintains an SPHR, (Senior Professional in Human resources) certificate.

Media contact:
Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833