College of DuPage Community and Board Meet with Presidential Candidate Dr. Ann Rondeau
College of DuPage community members had the opportunity to meet and pose questions to presidential search finalist Dr. Ann Rondeau on Tuesday, April 19, during the second of three candidate forums hosted by the COD Board of Trustees. The forums have been viewed by hundreds, both in person and via web streaming.
Dr. Rondeau answered questions from the audience, as well as those sent by e-mail and social media, covering a wide variety of issues including diversity, student affairs and her leadership style. She said her interest in becoming COD President was a calling.
"My body of work is this kind of work," she said. "I've spent my career training and teaching people how to get to the next level. This fits who I am and what I've done."
Noting that accountability is an opportunity, not a threat, for an institution, Rondeau said her contributions would be linked to the success of everybody in the College.
"If you are successful, then I am contributing," she said. "If every single student here is successful, then I am contributing. If we provide better service and learning experience, then I am contributing. If we are successful, I am contributing by facilitating that. My leadership style is one of service."
When asked about her vision for the College, Rondeau said that success would come through shared governance and teamwork.
"I want us to aspire and to achieve," she said. "We have some things to do right now, but I do know that if we are in this together, we are going to come up with answers. This is not just my vision. I will carry the vision with you, and I will be in the vanguard with you. If it's our vision together, we're going to do some great things."
A former U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, Dr. Rondeau is currently a consultant and Partner with IBM Watson Group. She is a past president of the National Defense University, a consortium of five colleges and nine research centers in Washington, DC. She has 26 years of experience in significant military and educational roles, including Deputy Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command in Illinois, Pentagon Director/Chief of Staff for the U.S. Navy Staff, Commander of the Navy Personnel Development Command in Virginia, Commander of the Naval Service Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois, Pacific Fleet Staff Chief of Staff in Hawaii, Commanding Officer of Naval Support Activity in Tennessee, and other staff and commanding responsibilities with policy, support and student service.
In addition to graduating from numerous leadership development programs sponsored by IBM, the Center for Creative Leadership, and the School of Business at the University of North Carolina, Ann Rondeau holds a B.A. from Eisenhower College (NY); an M.A. from Georgetown University (DC); and an Ed.D. from the College of Education at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in public service from Carthage College (WI).
Following the forum, acting Board Chairman Deanne Mazzochi expressed her gratitude to the forum participants, citing the work of the 17-member Presidential Search Committee.
"It is because of their hard work and their volunteer efforts that we have these stellar candidates," Acting Chairman Mazzochi said. "We are delighted to present such an accomplished group of finalists to the community."
On Monday night, the College held a public forum for presidential candidate Dr. Barbara Kavalier. The community will have the opportunity to meet and pose questions to the remaining candidate, Dr. David Sam, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, in the Student Resource Center, Room 2206 on the Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd.
Questions from the audience will be taken during the April 20 forum and individuals can also e-mail questions to pres-questions@cod.edu or via Twitter (@pres_cod) during or in advance of the forum. A video recording of the forum is available here.
Click here for more information on the College's Presidential Search or to provide feedback on the candidates through April 21.
College of DuPage is an accredited community college that serves more than 29,000 students each term. The College, which grants nine associate degrees and more than 170 certificates in 100 areas of study, is the second largest provider of public undergraduate education in Illinois.