Three finalists recommended for College of DuPage president job

College of DuPage trustees will have three candidates to consider when they decide who will become the school's next president.

A search committee on Thursday night unanimously agreed to recommend the three finalists to the COD board after checking their backgrounds and references. A fourth candidate didn't make the final cut.

Committee Chairman Lee Daniels said all three finalists are experienced and highly educated. "Any one of the three could be an outstanding president for the College of DuPage," Daniels said Friday.

COD spokesman Joseph Moore said it will be up to Deanne Mazzochi, the board's acting chairwoman, to decide when the board will begin its review of the finalists.

"It could be as soon as the next meeting," said Moore, noting the board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, April 7.

The names of the finalists have not yet been released.

When they are, Daniels said, "The public and the college's faculty, students and administration will be very pleased with the quality of the candidates that have been submitted to the board of trustees."

Trustees eventually 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.

Four of the seven trustee voted in October to fire Breuder after the school did an internal investigation. Breuder then filed a federal wrongful termination lawsuit against the four board members - Mazzochi, Frank Napolitano, Charles Bernstein and former board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, who resigned in December for unspecified personal reasons.