Two MCC icons saluted at areawide women's celebration

Penn Valley President and Blue River Interim President Joe Seabrooks (center), congratulates Mary Simpson (left) and Carroll O'Neal (right) at the Women's Foundation's Celebration of Women Publication Party.

Metropolitan Community College is fortunate to have many dedicated, hard-working and compassionate veteran faculty and staff members. MCC-Blue River Reading Instructor Mary Simpson and MCC-Penn Valley Associate Dean of Students Carroll O'Neal are two such respected leaders.

Simpson has served MCC for 35 years. While O'Neal has stood at the helm for 45 years. Both women were recently honored at the Celebration of Women hosted by the Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Each year the Women's Foundation publishes a commemorative journal to recognize and celebrate area women and girls. Since 1993 it has included more than 2,300 tributes to remarkable women and girls. Joe Seabrooks, Penn Valley president and Blue River interim president, serves as a board member with the Women's Foundation.

A portion of Simpson's tribute reads:

When asked about her years of working at MCC, Mary stated that she has been "blest to work with people of different campuses and to have good relationships with them."  She also stated that she "enjoys the relationships with peers and also enjoys working with students…and the relationship with the students."  Pride comes to her eyes when she relates the story of a student who was reading Dave Pelzer's A Child Called, "It" as an assignment for Mary's class when the student's son inquired what she was doing.  The student started reading aloud, and her other son joined them.  For the next two hours, the student read aloud to her two children. The student had never read a book before, but now wants to pursue an education degree.  Mary states, "I encourage students to reach their highest potential, and I believe in them."  As a faculty member, Mary has been a quiet inspiration to us all.  She never shies away from taking time to meet a student's needs or to help students succeed.

A portion of O'Neal's tribute reads:

It’s not your unwavering commitment to MCC-Penn Valley. Your 45 years of service proves you are dedicated to serving the thousands of students who have walked our hallowed halls.

It’s not your devotion to faculty and staff. You are a resource to all seeking to help students achieve their dreams.
 It’s not just what you do, it’s the way you do it. Carroll, you strut your stuff with the best of them. Your shoe collection is legendary. Whether patent leather, peep toe, stiletto or strappy – you’ve worn them all and worn them well!

Congratulations to these awesome women!

MCC Chancellor visits Penn Valley on day of announcement of new president

MCC-Penn Valley was anxiously looking forward to welcoming MCC Chancellor Mark James for his campus visit Tuesday. The visit was part of the chancellor's yearlong luncheon meetings with students, staff and faculty at each of the district's five campuses. But this visit was definitely far from ordinary because it was held moments after Penn Valley's new president, Joe Seabrooks, was announced.

"The vision was there. The passion was there," James stated as he explained his decision to appoint Seabrooks to the presidency.

James also praised Seabrooks for his open, honest communication style. "He's not going to tell you what you want to hear," said James. "He's going to tell you what you need to hear. And he has the courage to make decisions."

Seabrooks expressed gratitude for the appointment and excitement for leading Penn Valley. "We are so poised for greatness," he said. "We've been great for so long. Now we need to be phenomenal."

James also shared that he will make policy recommendations to the board on May 12. "In the end, I will do what's best for MCC in the long haul. It's a stark reality that we have to make serious changes to the way we've operated."

The chancellor said the decisions he will make will not be easy, but are necessary for MCC's future. "Failure is not in my vocabulary," the chancellor stated. "Student success is what MCC stands for. We need to make sure we're focusing on success at an excellent level."



Penn Valley President Joe Seabrooks shares his vision for guiding Penn Valley to new levels of excellence.

Chancellor James expressed his confidence in new president Joe Seabrooks.

Seabrooks appointed president of MCC-Penn Valley

MCC Chancellor Mark James has appointed Joseph Seabrooks, Jr., Ph.D., as president of MCC-Penn Valley.

Seabrooks has served as interim president of MCC-Penn Valley since December. He joined the five-campus college district in 2007 as president of MCC-Blue River. He has retained the MCC-Blue River presidency during his time as interim president of MCC-Penn Valley.

“During his interim assignment at MCC-Penn Valley, Dr. Seabrooks demonstrated a passion and vision that made it obvious he was the perfect person to assume the presidency of the Penn Valley campus,” said James. “I am confident that this appointment will mean great things for MCC-Penn Valley.”

Seabrooks will hold the interim presidency of MCC-Blue River until a permanent president is appointed. The college district will soon initiate a national search process to fill that position.

Seabrooks is well respected in the higher education community, having earned a number of local and regional awards for educational leadership. He spent 10 years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in various roles, including director of minority student affairs and assistant director of alumni and constituent relations. He also worked at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville as assistant vice chancellor for student affairs before joining Metropolitan Community College.

Seabrooks earned four degrees from UMKC: an interdisciplinary doctorate in urban leadership and policy studies and education administration; an education specialist degree; a master's degree in higher education administration; and a bachelor's degree in psychology. He is a vocal advocate for urban higher education.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to play a significant role in building upon MCC-Penn Valley’s legacy of empowering students to make their aspirations and dreams permanent realities,” said Seabrooks.

Seabrooks' apppointment is effective today, Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

MCC-Penn Valley to host African American History Month celebration

MCC-Penn Valley will present a broad range of events and activities to commemorate African American History month.

Activist Alvin Sykes will kick off the campuswide commemoration with a poignant presentation on the “Assassination of Leon Jordan” on Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. in ST 101.

Next is “Soul Sessions” – a fusion of spoken word, hip hop & jazz. This event featuring Spoken Word Artists Simeon Taylor, Camiele & DJ Skeme will be held on Feb. 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Upper Level Cafeteria

On Feb. 11, students will spend some “Time on the Vine.” Participants will enjoy the ultimate 18th & Vine Jazz District experience including visits to the American Jazz Museum, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Blue Room.

Interim President Joe Seabrooks will keep things rolling when he and DJ Hank present “All About The Benjamins: Hip Hop’s Influence on Consumer Trends.” The event will be held on Feb. 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Upper Level Cafeteria.

The critically-acclaimed documentary “KC Murder Factory” will be shown on Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. in ST 101.

More events will be announced. All events are free and open to the public.

Penn Valley kicks off roundtable discussions

Penn Valley Interim President Joe Seabrooks kicked off the first in a series of roundtable discussions on Thursday. The small group discussions are aimed at assembling students, faculty and staff to focus on outcomes that:

• Generate strategies for creating an innovative student-centered institution.

• Identify programs and strategies to dramatically improve student success.

• Develop strategies to maximize and leverage our rich diverse community.

The next roundtable discussions are Feb. 4 at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. and Feb, 18 at 1:30 p.m. All meetings will be held in CC 503.

Seabrooks and Boyd oversee MCC-Penn Valley

Joe Seabrooks, president of MCC-Blue River, has been appointed interim president of Penn Valley. Seabrooks will retain his position as president of Blue River during this interim assignment with additional assistance from Blue River’s deans and leadership team. Bernard Franklin tendered his resignation as president of Penn Valley this week.

Margaret Boyd, executive director of the Institute for Workforce Innovation (IWI), has been appointed as the interim executive director of the Health Science Institute (HSI). Boyd has been charged to work with Director Sandy McIlnay to create opportunities and build bridges between allied health, nursing programs, and area health care employers. She will also retain her position with IWI.

Random acts acknowledged and rewarded at MCC-Blue River

(Pictured above Paula Swope)

On October 5, MCC-Blue River president Dr. Joe Seabrooks, gave the gift of surprise to several unsuspecting faculty and staffers. It was all part of the campus’ “Random Acts of Kindness” campaign designed to build morale and acknowledge the good things people do on campus.

Dr. Seabrooks, and staff association president Sara Woodward, walked excitedly around campus seeking the winners of the award. Seabrooks praised each recipient for their team spirit and thanked them individually for contributing positively to the Blue River culture.



Recipient: Booker Armstrong





Recipient: Kathleen Henrikson




Recipient: Dr. Jon Burke






Recipient: Rocky Bond








Recipient: Mary Simpson

Other recipients not pictured:

• Mr. Lyon (part-time faculty)
• Elizabeth "Suzie" Smith