MCC Commencement to Mark Return to Traditional, In-person Celebration
April 25, 2022
Alumnus and advocate for affordable housing to speak at ceremony
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – On Thursday, June 2, Monroe Community College will confer associate degrees and certificates in career and transfer programs to its class of 2022 beginning at 7 p.m. in the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The ceremony will also be accessible virtually. Delivering the keynote address to MCC graduates and their families will be Rafe Reginald “Reggie” Ellison ’97 (Hyattsville, Maryland), an MCC alumnus and an advocate for affordable housing and community development; preceded by student speaker Christal Knight (Rochester), who will earn an associate degree in liberal arts and sciences-general studies.
At this time, all MCC students eligible to graduate may participate in Commencement and anyone — students, faculty, staff and guests — may attend without showing proof of vaccination status. Unlike protocols for ceremonies taking place on SUNY campuses, the SUNY mandate for participating students to be fully vaccinated does not apply to MCC’s ceremony. Blue Cross Arena no longer requires attendees at all events to provide proof of vaccination or wear masks, in accordance with Monroe County’s recommendations for venues and event spaces. Masks will be optional at MCC’s Commencement. MCC will support all students, faculty, staff and visitors who choose to wear masks. Event plans are subject to change based on current COVID-19 conditions.
MCC’s ceremony will be streamed live via www.monroecc.edu for those who are not able to attend in person.
Rafe “Reggie” Ellison, an MCC alumnus and 2022 Commencement keynote speaker
Reggie Ellison’s MCC story began in 1995 after he completed service in the U.S. Army and started working full time as a night-shift custodial worker while enrolled in MCC. When he first walked through the doors of MCC, he was excited about learning but unsure of his potential and how the college would impact his life. His sociology professor saw his potential and helped cultivate it.
Her inspiring support, dedication and encouragement changed his outlook and life. He thrived in his studies and personal growth. Years later, he established a scholarship in her honor — the Professor V. Sumati Devadutt Award for Academic Excellence Endowed Scholarship — as an expression of how deeply impactful her contributions continue to be for him and many of her former students.
After earning an MCC associate degree in liberal arts and sciences with distinction in 1997, Ellison furthered his education. He holds two master’s degrees — in public affairs from Princeton University and in real estate from Johns Hopkins University — and a bachelor’s in economics from SUNY Buffalo.
Until his retirement earlier this year, Ellison worked for the federal government for more than 20 years in positions with duties involving the analysis, development, regulatory oversight, and review of affordable housing and community development financing programs and activities. Most recently, he served as senior community development analyst at the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of Treasury, where he spent about eight years analyzing and leading the review of the nation’s largest banks’ public welfare investments.
In other federal positions, Ellison reviewed affordable housing programs, activities and initiatives created and administered by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.
Ellison’s civic engagement further illustrates his commitment to affordable housing and community development. He served as a commissioner on Prince George’s County Commission for Common Ownership Communities in Maryland and a board member for Veterans on the Rise, which provides services to homeless veterans.
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Most MCC graduates choose to live, work and continue their studies in the Rochester area. Of the career and certificate program graduates from the MCC Class of 2021 who are employed full-time, 87 percent are employed in Monroe or an adjacent county.