Crowder employee elected as chair of MCCA board

Steve Chapman
Reporter

Karen Fink, administrative assistant for the Crowder College agriculture department, has been elected as chair of the Missouri Community College Association board for the 2014 year. Though only recently elected as chair, Fink has actually been on the board for quite some time.

“This makes my sixth year on the board,” Fink said.

Fink’s years of service on the board actually served to help prepare for becoming the chair, she said.

“What it does is it starts you out as a member and then moves you to a chair-elect position, and this is just so you can get a better feel of what happens on the board so you are prepared to serve in the chair position the term that it comes your turn to be that position.”

As the MCCA board chair, one of Fink’s primary responsibilities will be working to keep community colleges like Crowder funded.

“We work hard and strive to keep the community college in a highlight to the legislators, because that’s where all our money comes from,” she said. “That’s how we fund our schools.

And that’s where the (MCCA) advocates to the legislators through lobbyists and has them know what our mission is; what we are about.”

Another of Fink’s responsibilities will be to chair the MCCA convention; an important function of the MCCA because it serves to help members in their roles at community colleges, according to Fink.

“(The convention) is where we have a chance (for) everyone to come together, have some very informative breakout sessions, to learn best practices from other colleges; also to be informed legislation and then just hear keynote speakers get you motivated about your job, motivated about going back…that’s what conventions are good for.

“So I will be the chair of the convention, probably the emcee of a lot of different breakout sessions, and we’ll have keynote speakers and it will be a good time for people to reconnect and get rejuvenated for the upcoming year.”

For her own part, Fink believes that while she serves MCCA members all over the state, her work especially benefits her fellow employees at Crowder. “Being…at the state level gives me to be informed and bring that information back to Crowder College; to the other classified employees that I work with.”