College says farewell to Novak, awaits replacement
By JJ Ossola
IV Leader Staff
Charles Novak, who joined Illinois Valley Community
College as the interim president in the beginning of August 2005, will stay on
through commencement ceremonies where he hopes to pass on the role to his
successor.
Novak, who started his career in college administration 31
years ago at IVCC, hopes to soon return to his farm home in Du Quoin "where
there is already about 2 foot of grass to be mowed."
While looking forward to returning home, Novak is still laser
focused on day-to-day matters at IVCC. He said that this time of year is
especially rewarding because "preparing for commencement and preparing awards
reminds you that all the hard work you put into the year comes to this."
"A lot of the work during the year is from the faculty,
staff, and administration who are working with the students to attain their
goals but we should also enjoy the end result."
Novak, who has served as the president of Richland Community
college, Olney Central College and interim president of Morton College, also
said, "I have had a good experience here at IV. This college is much older than
almost any other community college in Illinois which enables more tradition than
there is at other schools. The dedication and loyalty of the staff is truly a
testament to the school. I would wager that there are more employees with 20
plus years than any other institution in the state."
Novak has been characterized as honest, caring, genuine and
having a rare sense of humor.
Tracy Morris, director of admissions and records, said, "He
has been able to complete some substantial tasks during such a short time -
completing the mission, vision, valued practices, addressing the concerns of our
staff, participating in a number of events with faculty, staff, students, and
community members and directing the presidential search. All of this he has done
while still taking care of the day to day matters of running the college and
making time to get to know the people who work here."Valery Calvetti, director
of community relations and marketing, said of Novak, "[he] has been a breath of
fresh air." She also said "students are a priority with Dr. Novak and it is
evident in all that he does for us."
Bob Marshall, vice president of student services, said that
"he has helped IVCC improve and move forward."
Marshall went on to say, "He is one of the best presidents I have observed — an
honest, straight shooter who says what he means and means what he says. He
understands how complex systems work and interact. "
While Novak hopes to finish his tenure at IVCC by July 1,
Morris has jokingly threatened to "to try and tie him up and make him stay."
Novak said that although he has enjoyed his time as
president, he is also looking forward to possibly hiring someone else to mow the
fields and taking off to Victoria, Texas, where he will visit with his son's
family and his grandson, "swing over" to Dallas and see his sisters, and "head
over" to Phoenix where he has a granddaughter waiting.
When asked to define the high points of his tenure at IVCC,
Novak simply said “the people.”
“There are a lot of great people around IVCC, and it is fun
to be around them. I’ll miss them, and it is the pleasure of their company that
I’ll take back to southern Illinois.
"Thank you for all of the help that you have given me over
the past year," he said.
As Calvetti says, "Dr. Novak's departure will be bitter-sweet
as he has truly been a gift to our campus — he will leave us a better, more
focused and more closely knit community to move forward with our new president."