MCC Announces Several Faculty, Staff Appointments

MANCHESTER, CT – Manchester Community College officials on Thursday announced several appointments.

The appointments include:

• Dr. James Clark, of Storrs, was hired as a lecturer of biology. He joins MCC from the Neag School of Education and holds a Ph.D. in kinesiology from UConn, a master’s degree in integrative biology from the University of Southern California and bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola Marymount University.
• Dr. Tuesday L. Cooper, of Broad Brook, was named academic division director of social sciences, business and professional careers. Cooper holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New Jersey, an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts and a law degree from Western New England College School of Law.

• Paul Courchesne ’80, of Ellington, was hired as a lecturer in manufacturing. He holds a bachelor’s of science, management degree from Eastern Connecticut State University, a master’s of science degree in operations management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and he earned an associate in science degree in general studies from MCC.
• Brett Eberhardt, of Providence, RI, joins MCC as a painting instructor after serving on the faculty of Western Illinois University as a tenured associate professor of art. He was previously employed at Maine College of Art and Syracuse University, and prior to that he was on the faculty at the State University of New York, Potsdam. Eberhardt holds an MFA from Syracuse University.
• Dr. Luz Londono-Diaz, of Storrs, was hired as an economics instructor. She was previously adjunct faculty at MCC teaching macroeconomics and visiting assistant professor in UConn’s Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies program. Dr. Londono-Diaz holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics from UConn, as well as a master’s degree from the University of Maryland and bachelor of science degree from Universidad de Los Andes.
• Donna Manning, of Berlin, joins MCC’s police force after serving on the Berlin Police Department since 1988. She is a graduate of the State of Connecticut Police Academy.
• Ibtsam Mahfouz, of Windsor, joins MCC as an assistant professor of computer science. She was previously an adjunct lecturer at MCC and a computer science teacher at Flex School in New Haven, as well as an IT coordinator at Madina Academy. Mahfouz holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Michael P. Pence, of Windsor, joined the chemistry faculty as an instructor. He was an adjunct professor at Goodwin College in chemistry and environmental studies, and also served as a lab coordinator and tutor. He holds a master of science degree from Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor of science degree from Benedictine University.
• Nickia Pierce, of Windsor, joins MCC as a program coordinator/assistant professor of the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Counselor program (DARC). She is also owner of Lemons to Lavender, LLC, an addiction counseling center. Pierce holds a master’s degree in social work from Springfield College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross.
• Andrew Sottile, of West Hartford, was named an instructor of English. He joins the MCC faculty after serving as lecturer of English at MCC and previous to that as a senior lecturer at Western New England University. He also has been a staff writer for Wend magazine in Portland, Oregon. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from UConn and an MFA in writing from Pacific University.