Final reflections as College of DuPage president says goodbye

With gratitude, I write my last column as president of the College of DuPage.

I extend sincere thanks and appreciation to the Daily Herald for inviting and allowing me to write monthly about higher education and College of DuPage. This paper has been professional and responsive in its coverage of the college.

It also has provided a great public service in reporting and informing readers about the many wonderful activities of the college.

I extend thanks, as well, to the readers of this column. Your feedback has been gratifying as you provided insights, input, suggestions, ideas and commentary based on what you read. I was humbled when you let me know that you eagerly anticipated my monthly missives.

Writing and speaking about College of DuPage has been a joy because the college itself is a treasure. The words pour forth from the keyboard rather easily, in part because what I write about is our people and our work for our students, our district and our state.

The college team is a center of collective brilliance individually expressed by our people in their daily dedication and devotion to our students and our communities. Every day excellence is a hallmark of our work - whether faculty, staff, administration or students.

In ways large and small, and through challenges and opportunities, the individuals who comprise the college community make a difference in lives every single day. While each individual has their own spirit, the college has a single heartbeat in our passions and mission to be a center of excellence in teaching, learning and cultural experiences.

Is College of DuPage unique? It is in that we serve this community, at this time, in this moment, in this place, every day. We have the benefit of generous public support; a dutiful and diligent board of trustees; a sophisticated, expert and enormously professional staff; and a high-quality faculty.

Is College of DuPage special? It is in that we provide as its first and persistent priority a quality learning experience that supports success. It is special in that we are a learning network endeavoring to serve all who can benefit from our services. It is special in that the cultural, educational, financial and economic opportunities provided by the college ensures its place in the life and prosperity of the region.

For me, the privilege and honor of leadership service to College of DuPage as your president has been a calling as well as sheer joy.

Certainly, there have been challenges, but those come alongside the victories and the satisfactions of helping teams and individuals in their endeavors to create solutions and work toward real success.

I am passionate about the college and those we serve. While I have had many extraordinary leadership experiences in my life, this privilege of leadership service to and for the college is unmatched.

With the approval of our trustees, I will turn over the presidency - and this monthly article - to our interim president, Brian Caputo, on Jan. 1. Currently serving as our CFO, treasurer, as well as vice president for administration, facilities and IT, and as an intellectual leader in his own right, Dr. Caputo is a superb leader for the college and community.

I depart with mixed feelings. My next assignment is a calling of a different kind and I am proud of and privileged for that opportunity.

However, I answer that call with deep poignancy about where I am. My plan had been to serve this community for many more years.

In that poignant reflection, however, I pause. Perhaps the legacy of 2½ years of leadership service to the college was never meant to be measured by time. Rather, it will be measured by its impact and in the lives and lifelong contributions of our students and community who are touched by and benefit from the college. There is goodness in that.

That is reason enough for gratitude.

• Ann Rondeau is stepping down at the end of December as president of the College of DuPage.