Exciting times ahead for COD

As we are all aware, community college enrollment is down across the state and country. However, I am optimistic about our prospects to increase enrollment at College of DuPage. Our new board members, Annette Corrigan and Maureen Dunne, have both brought forward many great ideas on how to address the declining enrollment.

This is a great opportunity for COD to be a leader in the state on how we address our declining enrollment. There was a recent article in Forbes, that discussed how community college transfers are outperforming those students going directly from high school to major universities. With our 3+1 and other partner programs and our pathways initiative, our students will excel in their academic future.

The economy is strong and good jobs are available for the right candidates, if they have the right skills. There was a recent article in Community College Daily that said employers are confident that today's college students will have the skills needed to succeed but need to master soft skills and obtain additional credentials to be successful when entering the workforce. Between our vast program offerings in our associate degrees and certification programs, coupled with our extensive continuing education programs and our Project Hire-Ed project coupled with the Pathways initiative, our students will be uniquely qualified to succeed on the career path.

COD will stand out as more than just a community college through Innovation DuPage and the upcoming Frida Kahlo Exhibit and many other great initiatives. This is an exciting time to be at the College of DuPage.

I am grateful to the faculty and administration for all that you do. I am grateful to the board for the opportunity to serve as chairman Together we will accomplish great things in the coming year.

Frank Napolitano

Bloomingdale