Experienced Educator Named Interim Head of MCC ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) - A candidate who came strongly recommended by the State University System has been named interim president of Monroe Community College.

Doctor Lawrence Tyree of Sarasota, Florida was the unanimous choice of the MCC Board of Trustees Monday morning -- after nearly two hours spent in a closed-door executive session.

Board Chairman Richard Guon says that signals a unification of the board after the search for a permanent president collapsed this year under charges of political influence in the selection process. Guon says he now wants to focus on the future, and what he calls a more open selection process.

Guon says the State University System provided the MCC Board with a list of candidtes including Doctor Tyree. Guon says he spoke personally with interim SUNY Chancellor John Clark before calling a special meeting of the board to make the appointment.

Doctor Tyree has more than 40 years of experience at eight different community colleges around the nation. He's been President of the American Association of Community Colleges and served three times as an interim president.

Tyree will start in August, and he says he doesn't believe in being a caretaker. Tyree says he'll leave long-term goals for his permanent successor, but begin working right away with MCC faculty, staff and the community to move the college forward.

The search for a permanent replacement for retiring MCC President Tom Flynn will now resume.

Guon says he'll approach it with a different perspective than before.

Charlie Clarke is president of the MCC Faculty Association -- the union representing teachers at the college. He says the search process will be fine if board members just follow its recommendations this time around.

That didn't happen last time, when a majority of the college trustees voted to add two additional names on the short list of candidates handed in by two independent search committees.

Bill Smith and Dennis Kessler both had ties to the Monroe County Republican Party, and a large coalition of MCC faculty and students decried the vote as political influence. The board later deadlocked between those two candidates and couldn't come up with a winner.

In the meantime, Clarke says Tyree is a good choice for interim president who will hopefully give the new search some integrity.

Tyree is a native of Florida and has homes in Sarasota and in the North Carolina mountains. He and his wife will relocate to Rochester in August for the duration of his appointment.

Guon expressed optimism for the new search process, and said Doctor Tyree will act as a "new set of eyes" advising the trustees. Guon said politics can't be gotten out of the process, but he said two new trustees coming on will help "fix some personalities" on the board.

Guon also said he'll take up an offer from the MCC Faculty Senate to spend some time in classrooms and see what the college does from outside his perspective as a businessman.

Both Guon and Tyree say they don't believe MCC's national reputation as a leader among community colleges has been damaged by the aborted search process.

Faculty Association President Clarke says he's glad to see the SUNY system taking an active role in offering Doctor Tyree as interim president. He's hoping SUNY will stay active in the new selection process.

© Copyright 2009, WXXI