Middlesex CEO chosen by Regents

MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Regents for Higher Education has selected five campus chief executive officers who will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of Capital Community College, Gateway Community College, Housatonic Community College, Manchester Community College and Middlesex Community College. The board is undertaking a major reorganization of Connecticut's community college system, known as Students First, and plan to merge the 12, independent community colleges into a single accredited institution by 2023. A regionalized leadership team, including campus CEOs, will administer the new institution.

CSCU conducted a national search for campus CEOs. Thomas Coley, regional president of the Shoreline West region, chaired the searches for HCC and GCC. Rob Steinmetz, regional president of the Capitol-East region, chaired the searches for CCC, MCC, and Middlesex.

Steven Minkler will become campus CEO of Middlesex Community College in Middletown. Minkler has 30 years of leadership and teaching experience within the Connecticut community college system, working at three of the colleges. He currently serves as interim campus CEO at Middlesex, where he has also served as dean of Academic Affairs, the chief academic officer. At Middlesex, he developed new degree and certificate programs to increase enrollment and implemented the CSCU Transfer Pathway programs. Minkler also served as academic division director of Business, Science, Health & Technology at Northwestern Connecticut Community College; and director of Academic Media Technology at Capital Community College, where he also served as acting assistant to the academic dean. He joined CCC as an audio-visual media specialist in 1987. Minkler holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication, Magna Cum Laude, University of Hartford; Master of Arts in communication, University of Hartford; and Doctor of Educational Leadership, University of Hartford.

“I am delighted to have been selected as Campus CEO of Middlesex Community College, and am honored by this vote of confidence in the work I have done for the past three years as MxCC's Interim Campus CEO,” said Minkler. “I pledge to continuing placing students at the center of our institution, especially during this extraordinarily challenging time with a public health crisis and economic dislocation. I look forward to strengthening MxCC's signature programs both in on-ground and online format, its innovative spirit, and the many community partnerships that provide highquality experiential learning opportunities for our students. I will continue to work with my fellow CEOs and regional presidents to help build a cohesive, collaborative executive team for the new Connecticut State Community College. “

The following individuals will begin serving as campus CEOs beginning on July 1. All campus CEOs have an annualized salary of $155,250.

G. Duncan Harris will become campus CEO of Capital Community College in Hartford. William “Terry” Brown will become campus CEO of Gateway Community College in New Haven. Dwyane

Smith will become campus CEO of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport. Nicole Esposito will become campus CEO of Manchester Community College in Manchester.

Leo Club holding virtual 5K

EAST HADDAM — The East Haddam Leo Club is hosting a virtual 5K race through June 8 during which runners can clock their miles and submit them along with their times. Participants can run anywhere they like, according a press release.

Leo, which stands for leadership, experience and opportunity, is the youth organization of Lions Clubs International.

“These kids work so hard year round to give back to their community. And social distancing isn’t stopping them,” according to a Facebook post.

Youth are already holding free virtual trivia nights for families, along with prizes, the release said.

Those who register are eligible to recieve a customized medal, T-shirt and printable bib, which will be emailed and can be printed out.

Those who complete the challenge may submit their times by emailing juliana.cazassa@ehstudents.org or direct messaging the club's Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/ ehlc_virtual5k.

For information, visit https://ehlc-virtual5k.weebly.com.

Tassy Walden Award winners announced

Shoreline Arts Alliance recently announced the finalists and award winners for the 20th Annual Tassy Walden Awards for New Voices in Children’s Literature. This program is one of a kind in the state of Connecticut, rewarding unpublished Connecticut based writers and illustrators for their hard work and dedication to their craft. Our professional judges have selected the following finalists for 2020.

Picture Book Text: Winner: Natasha Garnett, “Daniela Makes Her Way”; Finalists: Joanne Courtemanche, “Mama, What If?”; Laura Jackson, “Unicorns Do Not Eat Pickles”; Beth Brody, “A Place at the Table.”

Illustrated Picture Book Writer-Illustrator: Winner: Gabriella Svenningsen, “What Is A Memory?”; Finalists: Charlice Culvert, “Penguin, I Am”; Lois Kennedy, “Nana Loves You.”

Middle Grade Novel: Winner: Paula Kay McLaughlin, “Renala: Sydney Parks & the Bayab Tree”; Honorable Mention: Paige Classey Pryzbylski, “The Finders”; Finalists: Kelly Kandra Hughes, “Unplugged”; Meg Weiss-Rivera, “Mangoes in the Snow”; Jeanne Davies, “Cast Off;” Dawn Michelle Mancarella, “The Revenant of Stonington.”

Young Adult Novel: Winner: Katie Tietjen, “In a Nutshell: The Case of the Lady in the Bathtub”; Finalists: Ginger Merante, “Flying Horses”; Kelly Kandra Hughes, “Red Rocks”; Lynn Wilcox, “Plastic High.”

Illustrator Portfolio: Finalist: Tessa Griffin

This year’s honorees were celebrated at a virtual ceremony May 27. For more information or to learn more about the Tassy Walden Awards and how to get involved visit www.shorelinearts.org/ tassy-walden-awards