New chairman in business department next semester
Dominic DeCono & Jeff Moses
The Business department will have a new chairman going into next semester.
Preston Cameron will be the new chairman of the Business department at MCC after he defeated long time chairman Linda Collins during the department chair elections held back in March.
“I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope to continue where Linda will leave off,” he said.
Cameron said he has high hopes for the future of the program and wants to give it his own flare.
“I see a different landscape and I think my skills and strategic vision could be helpful and based on the election the faculty agreed,” he said.
Department chairs at MCC hold their positions for three years and have very intricate responsibilities vital to the success of each department.
Jeff Andelora, the Department chair of the English program, said there must be transparency for anyone to be an effective as the leader of a department.
“We try to make every decision with as much consensus from the faculty as possible,” he said.
Andelora also said there are no specific rules that the district has regarding term limits or rules to how department chairs are elected.
Although they were rivals for the election, Cameron also said he has nothing but respect for Collins.
“She built the Disney program here and has made it a major success. There is a mutual respect and she has been very supportive helping me for next year,” he said.
Ed Welsh, a faculty member at MCC, said Cameron’s vision of the program will be a very positive for the department.
“He represents new blood. Preston is a very hands on guy, he helped recruit the Mayor of Gilbert to teach classes here and he has done a really good job of building up the social media here,” Welsh said.
Linda Collins, the current chairman of the business department, said she fully supports Cameron and the decision made by the faculty.
“You have to respect the decision of the vote and obviously the faculty has spoken and I will continue to work with Preston every step of the way. I don’t see this as a failure I see it as another opportunity to help our other awesome programs at MCC,” she said.
Collins, who has been the chairman of the business department at MCC for nearly 12 years, will continue to work in the business department and reprise her role as the lead coordinator for MCC’s Disney Internship program.
