Panel vetting four candidates for College of DuPage president job

The panel assigned to recommend candidates for the president's post at College of DuPage hopes to report by mid-April to the school's board of trustees.

Members of the presidential search committee are scheduled to meet behind closed doors Thursday night to get an update about the ongoing vetting of four semifinalists.

Committee Chairman Lee Daniels said a subcommittee has been working with consultants to do background and reference checks of the candidates.

"We're trying to report to the (COD) board in early to middle April," Daniels said Wednesday. "So this is a very busy time in terms of looking at the candidates and making sure that we furnish the board with everything we can."

After getting the search committee's recommendation, the COD board could add or subtract names from the list, Daniels said.

Then trustees are expected to conduct public forums to introduce the finalists. If everything goes as planned, they could pick the school's next president in May.

Acting Interim President Joseph Collins has been overseeing the daily operations of the Glen Ellyn-based school since last April, when former President Robert Breuder was placed on paid administrative leave amid state and federal investigations into COD's spending and administrative practices.

After COD did an internal investigation, four of the seven board members voted in October to fire Breuder. That led Breuder to file a federal wrongful termination lawsuit against the four trustees - Deanne Mazzochi, Frank Napolitano, Charles Bernstein and former board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, who resigned in December for unspecified personal reasons.

Despite the controversies at the state's largest community college, more than 380 people applied for the top administrative post.

Search committee members picked four semifinalists after interviewing 12 candidates picked by the consultants COD hired to help with the search.

"We're extremely pleased with our candidates," Daniels said. "Of the 12 that we received from our consultants, most if not all could have led the College of DuPage in a great way."