A search is underway for a new president of the College of Lake County after President Lori Suddick accepted the job of president and CEO of the Des Moines Area Community College in Iowa on March 23.
Suddick announced her resignation in an email to the college community the same day she was officially hired by DMACC. It is effective on June 1. She became CLC’s president in 2018.
The CLC Board of Trustees on Monday approved a contract with the Association of Community College Trustees, starting the search for Suddick’s successor.
CLC attorney Howard Metz said at the meeting that the search will start on April 13 and will cost $53,500. After a thorough review of applicants, the association will forward the names of three final candidates to the trustees for a decision on the new president. He did not give a timetable.
Board Chair Amanda Howland said in an email Thursday that the search will include community involvement. An interim president will soon be appointed “to help carry on the important work the college faculty and staff do to advance student success.”
“We thank Dr. Suddick for her years of service and accomplishments and wish her well in her new endeavors,” Howland said. “The College of Lake County has been serving the community since 1969 and looks forward to continuing to provide northeastern Illinois with equitable, high-quality education, cultural enrichment and meaningful workforce partnerships.”
Suddick said in an email that she will return to campus on Wednesday after a two-week planned vacation to complete her tenure at CLC, and provide “transparent and timely communication regarding” the interim president and the search for her successor.
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“Leaving this college, my team and the community we have built together will not be easy,” she said. “I will always carry the Lancer spirit with me, and I end my tenure celebrating the strength and promise of this remarkable community.”
In her email, Suddick said the 2024 Strategic Plan, the 2020 Master Facilities Plan, receiving Achieving the Dream’s Leader College of Distinction recognition, top-200 standing on the Aspen Institute’s Community College Excellence list, and the Impact and Success award from the ACCT are accolades she cherishes.
These “are notable achievements and evidence of the measurable impact on the students and communities CLC serves,” she said.
DMACC officials cited CLC’s growth during Suddick’s eight years at the school as part of the reason they hired her. They also pointed to CLC’s “first-ever capital campaign and multimillion-dollar endowment gift.”
“She led significant transformational changes resulting in a 10-percentage-point increase in three-year graduation rates, a 272% increase in dual enrollment headcount and significant increases in student retention,” DMACC said in a release.