SCCC president sees promise for job creation

The new SCCC president, Shaun L. McKay, speaks with students... — The new SCCC president, Shaun L. McKay, speaks with students on the plaza of the Selden campus. Students (l-r): Brandon Medina, Melissa Bennett, Nicholas Martello, Steven Meditz and Amber Butler and Courtney Roberts. (March 26, 2010) Credit: Photo by Joseph D. Sullivan

By DAVE MARCUSdave.marcus@newsday.comApril 3, 2010

Shaun L. McKay, president of Suffolk County Community College, looks out his second-floor window and sees promise - students of all ages, training to be nurses and dietitians, welders and pharmaceutical technicians.

He also sees worrisome signs - buildings that need to be painted, windows to be replaced, heating systems that must be updated. A consultant has estimated the school should spend $10 million a year for the next 10 years to repair the campus.

After a turbulent search process, McKay became Suffolk's sixth president on March 24. He takes over at a time when community colleges across the country are overwhelmed by demand from people seeking an edge in the job market. Suffolk's enrollment has soared to a record 24,560 on its three campuses even as the state threatens to cut $5.6 million - the school's budget is $180.4 million - in the year ahead.

Asked about his top three priorities, McKay quipped, "Jobs, jobs, jobs."

"We have to be more entrepreneurial," he said. "With job training, we can help bolster the region in a difficult time."

McKay advocates more cooperation with employers, and the college is working with agencies such as the United Way on retraining adults who have lost their jobs.

He adds that Suffolk is looking beyond the county and state for funding, citing $650,000 in stimulus funding received recently for a water quality improvement project.

Many associated with the college acknowledge some were skeptical that McKay was the right person for the job. But, they say, he's proving himself.

John Gallagher, founding dean of the Brentwood campus in 1973 and a former county police commissioner, teaches the history of religion at Suffolk.

"There was concern about how much of a classroom teacher McKay was," Gallagher said, "but what we need at this point is a creative administrator to take on the horrendous problems they're going to face if the budget doesn't go up."

McKay is no stranger. He's worked at the college for five years, most recently as executive vice president. He was selected after the other two finalists dropped out. The board of trustees tried to expand the selection process, but finally settled on McKay.

McKay, who will be paid $230,000 in his first year, has won the respect of several key faculty members.

"One of the things we're most happy about is that he's seen from the inside how the college is run," said English professor Jeff Kluewer, who chairs the three-campus faculty governance council.

Chigozie Onyinanya, 20, of Brentwood, a student member of the board of trustees, said he's been impressed by McKay's interest in the viewpoints of everyone on campus.

A biology major, Onyinanya says school libraries, in particular, show the strain of the influx of students, and it's often tough to find a place to study.

McKay says one of his biggest challenges will be keeping such students engaged as budgets are cut. With faculty union agreement, Suffolk increased maximum enrollment in many classes by two in the past year to save money. A review found no change in grades or dropout rates, McKay said.

Still, he realizes the school cannot keep adding students to classes - besides, some courses are limited by the number of computers or insurance rules about laboratory maximums.

"The place is bulging at the seams," Gallagher said.

McKay said parking lot and classroom congestion has been alleviated by starting some classes at 6:15 a.m., ending others at 10:15 p.m., adding weekend offerings and increasing online courses by 15 percent in the past two years.

McKay, who lives in Manorhaven, is the father of three children. He says he likes golf, but when he joined the administration, "I was handed two PDAs and a laptop, and all of a sudden it was over."