MCC Announces New Director of the Center for Student Development

Manchester, CT – (August 29, 2006) . . . Manchester Community College is pleased to announce that Florence Sheils, of Manchester, has been appointed Director of the Center for Student Development. She will take the place of Voncille Wright, who was recently appointed Dean of Students at Austin Community College in Texas.

As the Director of the Center for Student Development, Sheils will be responsible for the overall administration, supervision and integration of the Counseling department, College Learning Center, Minority and International Student Programs, and Office of Transitional and Women’s Programs.

Within the College Learning Center, Sheils is responsible for managing, planning and executing those programs and services that augment classroom instruction for students who are experiencing academic difficulty. In addition, she will be responsible for leading and managing a comprehensive program of student guidance, counseling, and tutoring/academic support services, as well as supervising full and part-time faculty, professional staff, lab assistants, peer tutors and support staff.

Sheils has worked at MCC for 11 years. Prior to accepting this position, she was the Interim Counselor/Coordinator of Academic Advising and was responsible for working with students, providing personal counseling and goal setting for educational and career attainment. From 1995 to 2000, Sheils was the Student Retention Specialist and Special Populations Adviser and from 2000 to 2005 she was the Coordinator of Transitional Programs and Director of the Women’s Center.

“It was a great joy to be able to name one of our own students to this senior position after a full national search,” stated Jonathan M. Daube, President of Manchester Community College. “Florence is highly respected in the college and in the community.”

Sheils graduated from Manchester Community College in 1993, with an associate degree in General Studies and was the founding president of the MCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the oldest and largest honor society serving two-year colleges. In 1994, she was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar and served as an intern for the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Sheils graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science and has a master of education degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

Sheils has been involved in various aspects of the community, including serving as a board member for the Julie Education Center and the Trust House Adult Education Advisory Committee in Hartford. She also served as a Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees of Connecticut Community-Technical Colleges from 1992 to1994.

Over the past years, Sheils has served on numerous college committees including: the Greater Expectations Task Force; Curriculum Committee; Reaccreditations Committee, Co-Chair of Subcommittee on Assessment; and the Guaranteed Admissions Program Committee for the University of Connecticut. In addition, she has also been responsible for coordinating the MCC Commencement Exercises for the past three years.

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.