Contact: Chris Chesrown
Media Relations Manager
480-731-8503
May 24, 2001

Steve Schenk to Direct Maricopa Community Colleges' Foundation Board

Greater Phoenix - Steven W. Schenk was selected by the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation Board to be the new Executive Director of the Foundation. Schenk, who replaces Rea Bennett, was Vice President for College Relations and Development for North Idaho College, a community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

"I am indeed honored to have been selected. Maricopa Community Colleges and its Foundation have an outstanding reputation as one of the best community college systems in the nation," Schenk said. "I am delighted to be here in the warmth and sunshine and we even look forward to the hot summers! More importantly, however, I am eager to assist the Foundation Board in reaching its goals of providing additional support for our colleges and their students."

At North Idaho, Schenk was responsible for all public relations, legislative relations and fund-raising activities. He also served as the executive director to the college's foundation, a private, non-profit corporation governed by a 30-member volunteer board with assets exceeding $7,000,000.

Schenk was an active community member. In addition to serving on theatre, health and chamber of commerce boards, he was a board director on the Kootenai County Human Rights Educational Foundation. "I am very proud of the work our group did. We raised money for minority student scholarships and for programs that educated others in our community on the value of diversity," he said.

Prior to joining North Idaho College, Schenk was owner and publisher of The Thermoplis Independent Record for six years and held a broad range of community positions. He also wrote, edited, designed and produced the first newsletter serving elementary and secondary schools on Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation.

The new director of the Foundation began his career at the St. Louis Junior College District (Missouri) as a public relations specialist and served part-time as general assignment reporter for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Schenk earned his Bachelors in Journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia and his Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He is also a Certified Fund-Raising Executive.

The Maricopa Foundation, affiliated with the Maricopa Community Colleges, is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) organization that raises and administers private monies for any and all of the divisions of the Maricopa system. The Foundation is separate from the Maricopa District Governing Board. It elects its own members and manages its own operations with assistance from a small staff provided by the District. The Board has 40 directors.

Primarily, however, the Foundation provides scholarships for students. "Investing in Arizona" was a recent major gifts campaign sponsored by the Foundation that raised $12.8 million in new scholarships and program support for the colleges. Currently, the Foundation's assets are $9 million with 55% held in endowments.

The Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the nation, includes 10 colleges - Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College, GateWay Community College, Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, Phoenix College, Rio Salado College, Scottsdale Community College and South Mountain College. The District also includes the Maricopa Skill Center, Estrella Mountain Skill Center, several satellite campuses and business/industry, technical and customized training institutes and serves over 264,000 students annually. For more information: 480-731-8000 or www.maricopa.edu

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March 13, 2002