Board of Trustees candidates, from left, Gerald Williams, Jack Schwab, Darrell Moore, Krista Lambrix, David Kubiske, and David Heilman.
The MCCC Board of Trustees is replacing two seats.
To help residents with their decision at the ballot box Nov. 6, a forum was held Thursday evening in the A Building.
Last month, Dr. Edward Feldman was appointed to temporarily fill the vacancy created by the June 27 resignation of Marjorie Kreps.
Feldman is not running for re-election, and the remainder of his term expires Dec. 31.
The board opted not to make an appointment to serve out the remaining term of the late Dr. James DeVries, who died Sept. 13. That board seat also expires on Dec. 31.
Two new trustees will be elected for six-year terms beginning Jan. 1.
The seven candidates currently vying for the two spots are Florence Buchanan, David Heilman, David Kubiske, Krista Lambrix, Darrell Moore, Jack Schwab, and Gerald Williams – and all candidates but Buchanan were present for the forum.
MCCC student Joseph Manley moderated the event, asking questions submitted by both student organizations and members of the crowd.
Enrollment, tuition, and online classes were the hot-button issues of the evening.
“Looking at enrollment is the number one need,” Moore said. “We need to utilize the technical colleges and offer more classes.”
If the college wants to increase enrollment, Lambrix said more online classes is one of the first places the school needs to start.
“The college needs to offer a full online degree,” Lambrix said. “There are many in this county who cannot get to a physical classroom.
Kubiske said, in addition to online classes, the school should investigate offering more night and even weekend classes.
“There is a whole untapped section of the community who might attend MCCC if there were class offerings which coincided with their jobs,” Kubiske said. “There are people who would like a chance to move forward.”
Heilman said the board needs to assess the needs for both traditional and non-traditional students, and work with them while staying current.
“I know that present and future needs look much different than past decades,” Heilman said. “Keeping the college current and teaching need-based and STEM classes is what we need to look at.”
Williams said his experience teaching in a lower socio-economic area showed him the importance of an affordable education.
“We need to keep our tuition affordable and attainable,” Williams said.
He also discussed the possible effects the looming DTE tax cuts might have on tuition.
Though much of the evening was spent discussing change, the quality of MCCC’s professors was something all six candidates could agree on.
“One of the best parts of this college is the professors,” Schwab said. “We have excellent professors who chose MCCC because their first love is teaching.”
