MCC's Packard leaves president post
Walt Packard has stepped down from his position as president of McHenry County College, taking on a less demanding role at the school to look after his wife of 40 years, who has developed a serious illness.
Packard's wife, Nancy, 61, is battling frontotemporal dementia, a neurological degenerative illness that affects the brain's ability to reason, concentrate and brings about personality changes.
There is no cure for the disorder, which affects 250,000 Americans and represents between 10 and 20 percent of all dementia cases, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementias.
Nancy Packard was diagnosed nearly three years ago and is no longer able to drive, but for the most part, can still carry on a conversation, her husband said.
Doctors have asked that he spend as much time as possible with her to keep her brain occupied so it doesn't succumb to the disease as rapidly. Packard says he reads to his wife, dances with her, helps her assemble puzzles and plays Scrabble with her.
"On the one hand it's difficult to deal with, on the other when you've been together as long as we have ... I owe her a great deal and I'll do what I can to give her the best care as long as I can," an emotional Packard said.
Packard, 61, worked with the board to become president emeritus, a post that gives him the flexibility he needs, while still working on projects at the college's choosing.
"My wife's illness really has been drawing my attention more and more and I feel the college really needs a person in that lead role who can devote his or her attention to that job," Packard said from his Crystal Lake home.
His specific duties and salary are still being discussed, he said.
Brian Sager, the school's interim vice president, has been named acting president while the school conducts a national search for Packard's replacement.
The Crystal Lake college also is reviewing who to pick as interim president - Sager was scheduled to retire at the end of the school year and also is running for a second term as mayor of Woodstock.
"I am currently working with the board of trustees of McHenry County College to ensure that the institution is well positioned to continue the high priority programs and initiatives to which Dr. Packard began and to which the board is committed," Sager said.
Under Packard's six-year tenure, the school beefed up its emergency notification system, introduced the McHenry County College Promise, which covers tuition for high school graduates entering the school, and secured 57 acres for its future development, board President George Lowe said.
"I really can't say enough about him, I'm saddened by this but i don't know what else to say," Lowe said. "We're going to miss him sorely. It's going to take a while to get used to this."