ERIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Quinn promises progress as school’s 10th president
After nearly six months at the helm of Erie Community College, Jack Quinn sounded right at home and well seasoned as he pledged Saturday to carry the institution forward during a dynamic time in the college’s history.
The former congressman who represented the 27th District in the House of Representatives was inaugurated as ECC’s 10th president before 300 people, including faculty, staff, local and state dignitaries in the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center.
Borrowing some wisdom from former Buffalo Bills Coach Marv Levy, Quinn said: “I’d rather be at this place and this time than anywhere else in my career.”
“I accept the challenge with the full knowledge of the job ahead of us,” said Quinn, a former Hamburg town supervisor who got his start teaching English at Orchard Park Middle School.
Quinn received accolades for leading the 13,300-student college from, among others, Robert M. Bennett, chancellor of the state Board of Regents; ECC Board Chairwoman Patricia A. Krzesinski; Erie County Executive Chris Collins; and Erie County Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli.
“We always knew Jack Quinn would be president of something,” Collins said. “Jack Quinn is the right man at the right time.”
Collins pledged the county’s support of the three-campus college, noting that the county provides 27 percent of ECC’s operating budget. “Within the constraints of Erie County’s finances, we will be supportive,” Collins said. “We share a common vision for a three-campus college. We have to put the nonsense of a single, city campus aside.”
Quinn reiterated, as did others, the vital role that ECC plays in providing an education to every child in the county who wants one. Others praised Quinn as a visionary who also would propel the college and yet be a constant, stable force in leading one of the 30 community colleges in the state.
“I know that ECC is probably the most best-kept secret in Western New York,” said Quinn . “My objective as 10th president is to tell this secret to everyone in our region who wants to listen. . . . It’s a rich tradition that needs to be shared.”
Quinn highlighted a push for student housing at ECC’s campuses and the need to pave a smooth transition for graduates of its two-year program to continue to four-year colleges within the state’s university system.
“This seamless transfer to a Western New York college or across the state, needs to take place,” he said. “As the new person on the block, we know there’s a lot of history of discussion on this issue.”
Quinn vowed to make student housing a top priority for ECC’s campuses, noting that 26 of the 30 community colleges across the state either have or are building student housing.
He also said it is critical to encourage students to pursue careers in their hometown.
“A lot of us talk about brain drain in Erie County. We want to make certain those students stay here,” he said.
