WILLIAMSVILLE — On Monday, SUNY Erie inaugurated Dr. Adiam Tsegai as the 13th President of ECC, becoming the first woman and African American in the role.
Tsegai aims to introduce new HVAC and auto programs in collaboration with the Northland Workforce Center.
"This is exciting, I'm so thrilled to represent our college, and being a graduate from SUNY Erie changed my life and this moment is such a wonderful opportunity for the college and WNY," said Dr. Tsegai.
Students express the need for better support, especially for those whose first language isn't English, like student Plamedia Kazadi.
"I struggled when I started. My English wasn't excellent and it kind of dropped my GPA and I don't want other people to go through the same process as me," said Kazadi.
Other students want more organization for processes like registering for classes.
"You're always pointed to one person and then you get pointed to another, then no one ends up helping at the end of the day. The stress is put on the advisor and, then the advisors are stuck trying to help the students," said 2nd year Nate Taniga.
With enrollment dropping 50% over the last decade and subsequent program cuts, Dr. Tesgai says she is fit to find solutions.
"Our challenges are our opportunity to take that and really change the college's future and lead the college forward. It has just a rich history that we wanna take advantage of but, I think it's time for us to move forward and make some changes as things are changing in education and our community as a whole," said Dr. Tsegai.
In August, ECC announced a new location for its South Campus in Orchard Park. You can read more here and watch our report below.
