CEO retirement
Tim Hood, who has served as president Highland Community College (HCC) in Illinois since 2015, will retire in June when his current contract ends.
Hood came to HCC in 2011 as vice president of academic services. He was named executive vice president in 2014 and president in 2015. Over his tenure at Highland, Hood revitalized the Lifelong Learning program, added multiple new programs and was instrumental in doubling the number of transfer agreements with four-year colleges and universities. He helped grow the CollegeNOW program from two to 11 participating high schools, giving area students the opportunity to enroll full-time in college-level courses while earning dual credit toward a high school diploma and an associate degree.
Calling it a “somber period,” Hood helped the college bounce back from the 2016-2017 Illinois budget impasse when Highland was short more than $2 million in state funding.
Cultivating a partnership with the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Hood helped write and secure a matching grant proposal, which paved the way for the HCC Foundation to raise money to fund nearly $1 million to support student scholarships for those with financial challenges. Hood and Rock Valley College President Doug Jensen helped write and secure a $675,000 grant for both colleges to collaborate in expanding career pathway opportunities with area schools and businesses.
Other grants awarded during Hood’s presidency include a $1.4 million Project Succeed grant, a $1.3 million Upward Bound grant and a $30,000 CCampis child-care grant. He also commended the entrepreneurship and collaboration of the faculty and staff-led solar array project that is estimated to impact the Highland budget by about $30,000 annually.
“We have some of the best programs and student support services in the state, largely thanks to the collaboration between extraordinary faculty, staff, college board members, our foundation, with tremendous support from educational and external partners,” Hood said. “It has been a privilege and an honor to serve with all, and we can be very proud of what we have accomplished working together.”
Appointments
Kathryn K. Eggleston, president of Richland College in Texas, is the 22nd board chair of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
“Dr. Eggleston is a nationally recognized leader within higher education and the Baldrige community. We are fortunate to have her expertise and dedicated service on the board of directors,” said Al Faber, Baldrige Foundation president and CEO. “Kay’s knowledge and expertise with the Baldrige Framework are proven, as her executive leadership was instrumental in Richland College being named a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient in 2005.”
Eggleston said the foundation faces important challenges in ensuring the long-term financial viability and growth of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which is run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology within the Department of Commerce.
“We will accomplish this through two key overarching strategies: permanent restoration of annual federal funding in the congressional budget – the public partnership – and rebuilding the endowment to support the program and operations – the private partnership,” said Eggleston, who also serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Richland College was the first community college in the nation to receive the Baldrige award. The Alamo Colleges District in 2018 and Howard Community College in 2019 also received the award.
Curtis L. Ivery, chancellor of the Wayne County Community College District in Michigan, has been appointed as board chair of the seven-member Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. WCAA is tasked with the strategic operation and management of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Willow Run Airport.
“During such a dynamic and innovative time in transportation and in southeast Michigan, it is truly exciting to champion that movement and help our region thrive into the future,” Ivery said in a statement.
