COD President Dr. Ann Rondeau Keynotes Veterans Day at Illinois State Fair

College of DuPage President Dr. Ann Rondeau (center) recently received a proclamation from Gov. Bruce Rauner and Erica Jeffries, Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (left), at the Veterans Day celebration at the Illinois State Fair.

Dr. Rondeau, a former three-star Navy Admiral, delivered the keynote address to kick-off the 2016 Veterans Day activities.

"Who are veterans? We are people of courage, dedicated to learning and taking that extra step forward to serve this great nation," Dr. Rondeau said. "We are people who have experienced much in life, including how to work as a team, how to deliver and how to be productive citizens in service of our country."

Harry Sawyer, Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, said Dr. Rondeau was invited to speak at the Veterans Day event due to her "distinguished leadership experience."

"In the more than 35 years of my involvement in this program, Dr. Rondeau is the first woman invited to provide the keynote at this event. While honor all veterans on this day, we wanted to emphasize especially the important role women have in their service and protection of our nation," Sawyer said.

Dr. Ann Rondeau retired from the U.S. Navy as a three-star admiral in 2012. She is the second woman to have achieved this rank. On July 1, 2016, Dr. Ann Rondeau was appointed by the College of DuPage Board of Trustees to serve as the College's sixth president. She is a past president of the National Defense University, a consortium of five colleges and nine research centers in Washington, DC. She then served as a partner and later an independent consultant with the IBM Watson Group. Dr. Rondeau has extensive leadership experience in significant military and educational roles, including Deputy Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command in Illinois, Pentagon Director/Chief of Staff for the U.S. Navy Staff, Commander of the Navy Personnel Development Command in Virginia, Commander of the Naval Service Training Command at Great Lakes, Ill., Pacific Fleet Staff Chief of Staff in Hawaii, Commanding Officer of Naval Support Activity in Tennessee and other staff and commanding responsibilities with policy, support and student service.

College of DuPage is an accredited community college that serves more than 29,000 students each term. The College, which grants nine associate degrees and more than 170 certificates in 100 areas of study, is the second largest provider of public undergraduate education in Illinois.