March 19, 2009
Three candidates will be listed on the Tuesday, April 7
election ballot for the Illinois Valley Community College Board of Trustees.
Melissa Olivero,
David Wilcoxson and
Leslie Englehaupt are
vying for the two open positions on the board. Wilcoxson is the only incumbent.
He currently serves as board chairman.
Board member Deborah Sweeden decided not to seek re-election.
Melissa Olivero
Peru, IL
Occupation: Attorney
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of Michigan,
1990.Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Northern Illinois University College of Law,
1997.
Previous Offices Held (Years): This is my first campaign for public office. I
have served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in LaSalle County from 1997-1999
and 2001-2005. I am an elected member of the Northern Illinois University
College of Law Alumni Council (1998-present). I am also an elected member of the
Board of Directors of Zonta International, District 6 (Illinois, Indiana, and
Wisconsin) (2008-present).
Why are you seeking a seat on the board?
I recognize that IVCC is one of the most important assets of our community.
I am seeking this position so that I can be a steward, ensuring that Illinois
Valley Community College will endure to meet the ever-changing educational needs
of our community. I will work with the rest of the Board and the President to
ensure that IVCC meets the needs of all students, especially in these difficult
economic times. The majority of my professional life has been spent in public
service. I served on active duty in the U.S. Army and as an Assistant State’s
Attorney. Currently, I serve as a labor attorney for a public agency. I will
bring to the Board my wide array of experience in such areas as budgeting,
planning, management, leadership, and labor relations. I look forward to serving
the citizens and students of the Illinois Valley Community College District. My
professional and life experiences will make me an excellent Trustee.
How do you perceive IVCC’s role in the community? Should that role be
changed?
Illinois Valley Community College provides a great education at a great value,
and in these tough economic times, more and more students will turn to IVCC.
Some students will use the College as a bridge to a four-year university, some
to prepare for new careers, and others to gain new skills to change careers or
reenter the workforce. The College must educate students seeking to advance to
four-year institutions, but also must also prepare students seeking vocational,
industrial, paraprofessional, and business careers. The College, through the
Board of Trustees, must be prepared to meet the ever-changing needs of the
community it serves. The community needs to pay additional attention to the
College. It serves as an invaluable resource for new and returning students, as
well as local business and industry. I will work hard to further enhance the
positive image of the College in our community as I serve on the Board of
Trustees.
How do you perceive the board’s role at IVCC?
Perhaps the most significant role of the Board of Trustees is to represent the
community in the affairs of the College. Members of the Board hold a special
public trust to serve both the College and community, and should serve as
ambassadors of the College to the community. Furthermore, the Board must ensure
that the College meets the ever-changing needs of our community. The Board must
set a positive example of professionalism and efficiency in its leadership of
the College. Other important duties of the Board of Trustees include shaping the
mission of the College, establishing the College’s budget, evaluating the
College and its President, and setting the tuition rate and the tax rate. A more
exhaustive list of the duties of the Board of Trustees is set forth in the
Illinois Public Community College Act, 110 ILCS 805/1-1, et seq.
Do you advocate an increase in student tuition or student fees to help
resolve any budget shortfalls? Why?
I believe that this question is moot in the short-term, as the present Board of
Trustees recently voted for a tuition increase. The College must retain and
attract excellent faculty, staff, and administrators in order to continue its
tradition of academic excellence. As costs increase, revenue must also increase.
I believe that every avenue toward increasing efficiency and cost-saving
measures must be explored before the Board turns to tuition or tax increases. Of
course, students must bear some of the cost of College’s operations. However,
access to higher education must be a paramount consideration in any decision to
raise tuition. As community colleges provide access to a post-secondary
education for those who otherwise might not be able to afford it, the Board must
ensure that it does not raise tuition to the point that such students are
excluded from attending college. With more and more returning students seeking
training to reenter the job market, and with more and more people out of work,
the Board must strive to keep the College available and affordable to all who
need it.
Are there other issues that you feel will be important to this election?
What are they and what is your position? (No more than three issues can be
listed.)
Given the changing dynamic of the American economy, the Board must be responsive
to the changing needs of the community and the college. If I am elected to the
Board of Trustees, I will establish forums for students, parents, community
members, faculty, and staff members, to address their concerns and aspirations
for the College with me directly. These forums may include a website, open
periods for conversation with students, faculty, and staff at the College, and
“Meet the Trustee” events throughout our community.
David L. Wilcoxson
Peru, IL
Occupation: Certified Public Accountant – Wilcoxson & Associates, Ltd.
Education: Western Illinois University – B.A. in Accounting
Previous Offices Held (Years): Dimmick School Board 1989-1997; IVCC Board of
Trustees 2003-Present
Why are you seeking a seat on the board?
I ran for the board six years ago because I saw IVCC going in the wrong
direction. IVCC had gone from a highly respected low tax, low tuition
institution to a high tax, high tuition institution in just a few years, and the
administration and board had asked for a huge tax increase in the November 5,
2002 referendums. I felt the public was being misled, and I campaigned against
the referendums, which were soundly defeated. Since I was elected to the board
in 2003, IVCC has operated in the black every year and has lowered the total tax
rate every year. History has proven we did not need the referendums. Six years
ago, IVCC’s combined tuition and universal fee rate was the sixth highest of the
39 community colleges in the state, 10 percent higher than the state average and
equal to that charged by the City Colleges of Chicago. We are now the SECOND
LOWEST in the state and 24 percent below the state average. While keeping costs
under control, we have made substantial improvements to the facilities. After 40
years, we are doing something about the parking! We have also worked to bring
part-time faculty and support-staff compensation up to levels comparable to
other colleges and local employers. I want to stay on the board to do what I can
to maintain IVCC’s reputation for fiscal responsibility and for providing an
exceptional education at an affordable cost to the students.
How do you perceive IVCC’s role in the community? Should that role be
changed?
Our traditional role is to provide the first two years of a baccalaureate
program and vocational-technical programs to graduating high school students.
Additionally we provide a wide range of programs designed for the specific needs
of individuals and businesses in our area. IVCC has often taken a leadership
role in developing programs in anticipation of the community’s needs. Our area
has two major educational shortcomings, too many of our young people drop out of
high school, and too few of our high school graduates complete a four year
degree. A third lesser issue deals with the academic readiness of the high
school graduates entering college. We need to find a way to address these
issues, possibly through both individual student contact and cooperative efforts
with the feeder schools.
How do you perceive the board’s role at IVCC?
The board has three major responsibilities: Designating the chief executive. The
board is responsible for recruiting, hiring, and evaluating the President of the
college. Policymaking. The board develops and adopts policy governing most
facets of school operation. Implementation of policies is delegated to the
administration. The board evaluates the execution and effect of policy.
Planning, goal setting, and appraisal. The board must establish the current and
long-term plans and programs for the college. Appraisal of the results of these
programs is a responsibility of the board.
Do you advocate an increase in student tuition or student fees to help
resolve any budget shortfalls? Why?
No, I have worked very hard to bring IVCC’s student tuition and fees down from
10% above the state average six years ago to 24% below the state average today.
I am not about to change my goal of making IVCC affordable for everyone.
Are there other issues that you feel will be important to this election?
What are they and what is your position? (No more than three issues can be
listed.)
The same question was asked six years ago, but the responses were not printed
because of lack of space. My answer then was “Fiscal Responsibility.” Today IVCC
is fiscally responsible and has one of the finest budgeting and reporting
systems in the state to show it. IVCC has a bright future.
Leslie-Anne Englehaupt
La Salle, IL
Occupation: U.S. Navy, Retired and mother of two.
Education: Hall High School Associate in Applied Science, Naval School of Health
Sciences, Bethesda, Md. Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science, Illinois
Valley Community College.
Previous Offices Held (Years): Educational Petty Officer, NSHS Great Lakes Naval
Base 1990; Educational Petty Officer, National Naval Medical Center 1991-1992;
Leading Petty Officer, Phlebotomy Accessioning Department, National Naval
Medical Center 1995-1996; President, Student Group of Amnesty International at
IVCC 2003-2004.
Why are you seeking a seat on the board?
First, let me preface my answer by saying that shortly after President Obama’s
election, he put out a “call to serve”—an appeal to the American people to give
of their time to a cause greater than themselves. That being said, I am seeking
a seat on IVCC’s Board of Trustees so that I may give back to an institution
that has given so much to me. I graduated Cum Laude from IVCC in 2004 and
transferred to Bradley University on a merit-based scholarship. As I began the
transfer process, I was concerned about how my level of preparedness and quality
of education would compare with that of those individuals who had been at
Bradley from the beginning. Thankfully, my concern was for naught as I soon
discovered that I was just as prepared, if not more so, than most of my peers.
My smooth transition was, and still is, a direct testament to the hard work,
dedication and professionalism of the faculty and staff at IVCC. It is to their
credit that I stand before you today—an alumni and a candidate for the college’s
board of trustees.
How do you perceive IVCC’s role in the community? Should that role be
changed?
IVCC’s role as a community college is to respond to the ever-changing needs of
the community it serves. Whether that role entails preparing students for
transfer to a college or university, assisting the increasing numbers of
dislocated workers, teaching vocational and technical trades, furnishing a venue
for cultural exchanges or providing continuing education in a myriad of other
subjects, a community college’s role, by the simple virtue of its name, is to
serve the community. While I don’t believe IVCC’s role in our community should
change, I do believe that because education is a progressing entity, so too must
be our approach to it. Therefore, it is imperative that the methodologies,
resources, technologies and skill sets utilized by the faculty and staff be
encouraged to evolve and grow in order to keep up with the ever-changing times.
For if we fail to provide this basic of all tenets, then we have failed not only
ourselves and our students, but the community at large.
How do you perceive the board’s role at IVCC?
I believe the role of the board at IVCC is to set broad, general policies that
will help to assist the administrators in achieving and maintaining the mission
statement of the college.
Do you advocate an increase in student tuition or student fees to help
resolve any budget shortfalls? Why?
As a former IVCC student, and a mother of two, I can both appreciate and
empathize with the financial challenges facing the average college student
today. As such, the only time I would advocate for an increase in tuition and/or
student fees is as a last resort to a budget shortfall or crisis.
Are there other issues that you feel will be important to this election?
What are they and what is your position? (No more than three issues can be
listed.)
During these difficult economic times, I feel it is especially important that a
community college board be a reflection of the community it serves. As an IVCC
graduate, and a 40-year resident of district 513, I feel I am duly qualified for
the position and would consider it both an honor and a privilege to be elected
to IVCC’s board of trustees.