Hill takes husband's seat on Harper board

David Hill believed community colleges play a vital role in the "fabric of society" by providing opportunities to people who want to better themselves.

Now Diane Hill hopes to continue her late husband's mission.

The Inverness resident was appointed Thursday to fill the seat left open on Harper College's board of trustees following David Hill's death on July 26. The executive chairman of Rolling Meadows-based Kimball Hill Homes served as trustee since 2004.

"I'm extremely gratified the board has the confidence in me to fulfill David's mission to help the college move forward," Hill said. "I'm a bit overwhelmed."

The board unanimously approved the nomination, and welcomed Hill with a standing ovation. She will hold the seat until the next general election in April, when she can run for election to retain it, if she chooses.

Hill approached Chairwoman Laurie Stone with the hope she'd be considered, unaware she had already been identified as the board's top choice.

"We were trying to be sensitive to her time of bereavement," Stone said. "She has Harper in her heart and we were overjoyed when she called."

Hill's association to Harper made her a natural choice, Stone said, in addition to a distinguished career in higher education.

She is retired after 32 years at Northwestern University, where she worked as a senior lecturer, author and clinical supervisor in speech and language pathology.

A member of the Harper College Educational Foundation since 2004, she currently serves as vice president of programs. Last year, she co-chaired the college's 40th anniversary gala, which raised $500,000.

Hill holds numerous leadership positions for organizations including Northwest Community Hospital, WINGS, The Bridge and Augustana College.

Officials call the Hills generous contributors over the years, and special mention was made of David Hill's interest in programs for the hearing-impaired.

Shortly after Hill took her seat, she cast her vote on one of the college's more significant issues to come up in recent months. All the trustees approved placing a referendum on November's ballot in order to fund $154 million worth of repairs and renovations to campus facilities. She said her husband was concerned at ongoing cutbacks in state funding and wanted Harper to continue its strong fiscal position.

"I'm not quite up to speed yet but I studied all the materials and am impressed at the thoroughness Harper went about to find out what's important to the community," Hill said. "I look forward to helping to see plans for the future materialize."

Hill's is the second appointment to the board this year. Former student Trustee Carlos Borro filled the seat held Patrick Botterman, who suffered a fatal heart attack in March. His term also expires in April.