Former interim president leaving COD
The administrator who oversaw daily operations at the College of DuPage as acting interim president "during a period of turbulence and transition" is stepping down.
COD trustees Thursday night are scheduled to vote on a retirement agreement with Joseph Collins, 58, the Glen Ellyn school's vice president of academic affairs. If the deal is approved, his last day with the school would be Dec. 30.
As part of the deal, Collins would be paid $121,002 in exchange for retiring six months before his contract is set to expire.
"Dr. Collins has served honorably," COD President Ann Rondeau said in a written statement. "After thoughtful consultation, Dr. Collins and I have mutually agreed upon a timetable for his retirement that is in the best interests of both Dr. Collins and the college."
On Wednesday, Collins released a brief statement through the college.
"I have chosen to retire voluntarily," Collins said. "I have enjoyed my time at COD and I wish everyone the best."
In a one-paragraph letter dated Oct. 31, Collins told Rondeau about his intent to retire Jan. 1.
He will be replaced by Donna Stewart, the school's dean of business and technology, who is slated to become interim vice president of academic affairs. She will take the position Monday and keep it until at least June 30. Her annual salary will be $193,362.
An electrical engineer by training, Collins spent 20 years in faculty and administrative roles at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before coming to COD in 2005 to take a job as associate vice president of academic planning and assessment. He eventually rose to become executive vice president - the second-highest leadership position at the college.
Officials wrote in materials prepared for the board that Collins also served as acting interim president of COD "during a period of turbulence and transition."
Collins was named the acting interim president in April 2015, when former President Robert Breuder was put on paid administrative leave amid state and federal probes into the college's spending and administrative practices.
A COD board majority put Breuder on paid leave - and barred him from campus - after a previous board awarded him a nearly $763,000 buyout package.
Anger over that buyout led to a new board majority being elected in April 2015.
In October 2015, Breuder was fired in the wake of internal investigations by the school. He filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against former board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton and three current trustees in which he is seeking more than $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Meanwhile, the firing of two other administrators - Thomas Glaser and Lynn Sapyta - in fall 2015 resulted in a lawsuit against Collins.
In December 2015, Glaser and Sapyta sued Collins, the school and Hamilton, claiming they were wrongfully terminated as payback for opposing Hamilton's political agenda. The lawsuit is seeking back wages and lost benefits, loss of earning capacity, and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
As part of the proposed deal with Collins, the school agrees "to defend and to indemnify Collins from certain liabilities" stemming from the Glaser and Sapyta lawsuit.
Collins served in the interim president position until Rondeau became the sixth president of the community college on July 1. The board named him vice president of academic affairs on July 28. He was paid an annual salary of $227,000.