The Monroe County Community College Board of Trustees has chosen Dr. Kojo Quartey as the College's fifth president, Wednesday. He will be succeeding Dr. David Nixon, who will be retiring in July after serving MCCC for 10 years.

"We are excited to welcome Dr. Quartey to MCCC. He has an extraordinary life story and is a committed academician. He is highly dedicated to serving at-risk communities, community engagement and positively impacting students' lives. He considers himself, first and foremost, an educator," Board Chair William J. Bacarella Jr said.

Quartey is yet to negotiate his contract with the board.

His last employment was with the City Colleges of Chicago as provost for the past two years.

Prior to City College, Quartey served as the dean of the College of Business at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Mich., dean of the Division of Administration and Business at Talladega College in Talladega, Ala., and dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies, Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Mo., and vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the Lincoln University Foundation.

He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in economics from Morgan State University, and a doctoral degree in applied economics from Mississippi State University.

Quartey also completed post-doctoral work in finance and leadership.

Apart from serving in varied administration positions, he also worked with several community-related organizations such as the United Way of Jefferson City, Mo.; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Grand Rapids; Big Brother, Big Sisters Board of Jefferson City; and numerous other community boards. Plus, he worked as a consultant on international projects in the Ukraine, Ghana, China and other nations.