Oakton board bids farewell to longtime president
The first year Margaret Lee began teaching, a freshman in her high school English class gave her a poster that read, "I love my life and almost everything in it. I love my life."
It's something Lee, the longtime president of Oakton Community College, thinks of every day, and it's a message she wanted to share Tuesday during closing remarks at her final board of trustees meeting.
"I have been so blessed through all the days of my life, and especially the days and months and years I have spent at this college," she said.
Monday is Lee's last day after 20 years as president and a total of 30 years at the Des Plaines college. At 71, she said she thought it was a good time to retire - to travel, write and do "whatever I feel like."
Trustees lauded Lee's professional achievements and approved a resolution in her honor as they extended their best wishes for her retirement.
"It's very difficult to describe 28 years of knowing somebody that close," said Trustee Jody Wadhwa, the board's longest -serving member. "You see them and talk to them three or four times, or sometimes more, a month. How can I describe the relationship? The best way I can is, Peg has become my friend. A true friend and a good adviser who keeps me on the ball."
Board Chairwoman Patricia Harada said three qualities exemplify Lee: compassion, commitment and service.
"Day in and day out, Peg has shown care for students, employees, community members, and each person who crosses her path," Harada said. "She's made some hard choices, but she always makes them with a soft heart."
The resolution lists some of Oakton's achievements with Lee at the helm: dedicating a $39 million science and health careers building earlier this year, being named as one of the top 10 community colleges in the nation by The New York Times in 2007, and joining Achieving the Dream, a national organization aimed at closing the student achievement gap.
Lee was also named one of the most powerful and influential women of Illinois by the National Diversity Council in 2012.
At age 17, Lee entered the Sisters of St. Joseph convent of Boston, where she later earned an undergraduate teaching degree. She went on to attend the University of Chicago, where she earned master's and doctoral degrees in English language and literature.
Her first job at a community college came in 1975, as a part-time English professor in Michigan. At the same time, she and her husband were living on the family farm.
Lee came to Oakton in 1985 as vice president of academic affairs after serving a similar role at a college in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Joianne Smith, Oakton's vice president of student affairs, takes over for Lee next week, becoming the fourth president in Oakton's 46-year history.