Oakton Community College search committee names three finalists for president
Oakton Community College's presidential search committee announced Monday the names of three finalists to succeed retiring President Margaret Lee.
The 15-member committee, composed of two members of the board of trustees along with faculty and staff, are presenting the finalists to the full 7-member school board, which will make the final hiring decision.
The finalists are Joianne L. Smith, currently Oakton's vice president for student affairs; Kristine M. Young, vice president for academic services and chief academic officer at Parkland College in Champaign; and Edythe Abdullah, special advisor to the president at University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
All three candidates will be at Oakton this month to meet with the board, administrators, faculty, students, staff, and the public, officials said. The board is expected to hire one of the finalists at a future board meeting. The new president, who would become the fourth in the college's history, will assume the position July 1.
Board Chairman Bill Stafford told the Daily Herald recently that the new president could be announced as soon as April or May.
Lee is retiring after 30 years at Oakton - the last 20 of which was as president.