Magnet High School Building to be Named for Retiring College President

Manchester, Conn., – May 19, 2008 . . . At a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut’s Community Colleges, the members unanimously approved the naming of the Great Path Academy middle college high school building for Manchester Community College President Jonathan M. Daube.

Pictured from left to right:
Rev. David L. Cannon, member of the board of trustees;
Linda Daube, wife of Dr. Jonathan M. Daube;
Dr. Jonathan M. Daube, president of MCC;
Louise S. Berry, chair of the board of trustees;
and Marc S. Herzog,
chancellor of the Connecticut Community College system.

The Governing Board of Great Path Academy and the Manchester Community College committee charged with the responsibility for recommending names for campus facilities, in accord with Board of Trustees’ policies, both voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the building be named in honor of President Daube.

As resolved by the Board of Trustees, “Dr. Daube has played a key leadership role in the establishment of the Academy, first by bringing the concept of a middle college high school to the Manchester campus and then in guiding its on-going development as a state-of-the-art facility to serve the needs of high school students from throughout the region as an integral part of the college. Dr. Daube’s vision has been the moving force behind the establishment of a middle college high school on MCC’s campus. His remarkable ability to encourage creative problem solving and to build consensus among disparate interests has fostered the growth of this truly ground-breaking educational initiative and will be remembered for years to come. With this recommendation for naming of the facility in Dr. Daube’s honor, his vision, his leadership, and his guidance will be most fittingly recognized and commemorated.“

The Great Path Academy building is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in Spring 2009. It will be the first public high school constructed on a college campus in Connecticut. When it is fully operational, it will serve approximately 325 students in grades 10, 11 and 12. The project consists of a 75,000 square foot, two-story facility that will consist of flexible learning spaces and advanced technology; an internet café; a gymnasium; and a community room. The design promotes easy access to the College and facilitates collaboration between Great Path Academy and MCC.

Great Path Academy students presently come from the towns of Bolton, Coventry, East Hartford, Ellington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Manchester, and Tolland. The students are immersed in the College community and are encouraged to accelerate their post-secondary studies by taking college, as well as high school, courses.

At the same meeting, the Board of Trustees granted to Dr. Daube the status of President Emeritus. According to the Board’s formal resolution, “Manchester Community College has become a vital and vibrant learning community, a leader and partner in economic and workforce development, an educational center and a catalyst for the growth and development of the region it serves. President Daube is widely known on the state, national and international levels as a true educator who is admired for his scholarly interests, his collegiality, his dedication to fostering a stimulating and inclusive college environment where students achieve and grow by enlarging their understanding of the world and themselves, and where communities come together to find common ground, mutual interest, and connections. His sincere dedication to students and his highly successful efforts to develop academic and campus resources that meet their needs serve as a model of community college leadership and have earned him the respect, admiration, and affection of all those that have had the good fortune to be his colleagues and friends in the higher education community and throughout the Connecticut Community College System.”

In May 2007, Daube announced his intention to retire after the 2007-2008 academic year.

Originally from Great Britain, Dr. Daube moved to the United States in 1963. Previously, he was president of Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, Mass.; professor and director of Union Graduate School in Yellow Springs, Ohio; superintendent of schools in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; and an English teacher, both in Newton, Mass. and in England. He became president of Manchester Community College in 1987. Dr. Daube has been a member of the board of directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, has served as a visiting member of the editorial board of the Hartford Courant and was recently elected president of the board of directors of the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) Development Trust.

Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The College offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. MCC is situated on a park-like campus and is easily accessible from I-84.

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