Longtime CLC board member receives national leadership award

Barbara D. Oilschlager, who has served on the College of Lake County board since 1989, has received a leadership award from a national organization that represents 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond.

Oilschlager said the 2018 M. Dale Ensign Trustee Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees was special honor.

"I didn't know I was up for it. I was completely surprised," she said. "Anytime you receive recognition from your peers, that's really gratifying."

CLC Board Chairman Richard A. Anderson said he was pleased she was honored.

"Her vision and ability to analyze complex higher educational issues have been invaluable in making CLC one of Illinois' premier community colleges," Anderson said.

Oilschlager said she doesn't want to take too much credit for making CLC what it is today.

"A lot of people worked very hard to make it and keep it a great institution," she said. "This is not something I did alone."

Oilschlager has served community college organizations at the state and national level. She was the president of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association in 2009 and 2010, when she advocated for more state funding. In 2015, that organization gave her an award for exemplary service.

Nationally, Oilschlager is the state coordinator for the Association for Community College Trustees for Illinois. She has presented at national conferences and was part of an American delegation that met with leaders of Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand.