After three decades spent in leadership positions at Oakton Community College, Margaret B. Lee plans to retire from her current post as college president next June.
The Oakton Community College board of trustees has embarked upon a search process for Lee’s replacement.
As part of that process, the board is asking for community input via an online survey and three stakeholder meetings.
More Top Picks Best Wheeled Duffel Bags For Women
Lee has spent the last 20 years at the helm of OCC, which was founded in 1969 and serves more than 450,000 residents in 16 municipalities, according to college data. Lee, 70, previously spent 10 years as the college’s vice president.
When asked why she dedicated so much of her life to one institution, Lee said “it’s been a wonderful, wonderful place to work.”
Roughly 10,000 students are taking classes for credit at the institution — which includes campuses in both Skokie and Des Plaines — this fall, while more than 11,000 students enrolled in non-credit courses during this past spring, according to college officials.
“The thing I’m most proud of is the students who have come through these doors and some of whom I’ve had the privilege to teach and whose lives I’ve touched,” Lee said.
Lee holds a PhD in English Language Literature from the University of Chicago. She said she has occasionally taught courses on topics ranging from Shakespeare to introduction to humanities.
Lee also said she has taken classes at the college.
In fact, 25 percent of the students that attend OCC already have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education under their belt, said Joan DiLeonardi, a member of the college’s board of trustees.
“We’re educating people in various stages of their lives,” she said.
DiLeonardi said Oakton is also “the community’s college.”
For that reason, it’s important to involve the community in the search for a new college president, she said.
“We may learn something from this process,” DiLeonardi said.
Ultimately, the president of a college is like the chief executive officer of a company, she said.
“Basically it has to be somebody the (board) trusts and somebody the whole community trusts,” she said.
“I am very hopeful and I am convinced (the board) will do a good job and I think they have a clear understanding of the kind of person they want,” Lee said. “I really think the input of the college community being sought broadly and the search committee composed of people across the institution will be a very healthy process for this institution at this stage.”
As much as she has enjoyed her time at OCC, Lee said a spontaneous femur fraction sustained a year ago and subsequent hospitalization and rehabilitation made her realize “how important it was being able to retire healthy.”
Following the injury, she asked the board not to renew her current contract, which expires on June 30 next year.
Whoever replaces Lee will have big shoes to fill, DiLeonardi said.
“She’s what I would call an iconic president,” she said.
DiLeonardi said Lee, who is known both nationally and locally, “has been a voice for the community college movement.”
“That’s another reason to be really thoughtful for choosing her successor,” DiLeonardi said.
The stakeholder meetings are slated for Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in room 1608 of OCC’s Des Plaines campus located at 1600 E. Golf Road, Wednesday, Sept. 10, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in room P103 at the college’s Skokie campus located at 7701 N. Lincoln Ave., and later that same day from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in room 1625 at the Des Plaines campus.
The online survey is available through Sept. 12 at surveymonkey.com/s/OaktonPresidentialSearch.
DiLeonardi said a complete job description will be finalized once the community input process concludes.
More Top Picks Best Home Ev Charging Stations
A search committee will be appointed in September or October and she expects the board to make a final decision by January of next year. The new president will start on July 1.