Board Chair Christine Fenne has announced the appointment of Christine Hammond as interim president at a special College of Dupage Board of Trustees meeting on May 30. Her tenure will begin on July 1, 2024, and not exceed June 30, 2025, in which a permanent president will be appointed. She will replace the current president, Brian Caputo, who announced his retirement in January.

“The Board is very excited about this announcement and [is] looking forward to working with her as well as the entire college community as we transition into this new era,” said Fenne at the Thursday meeting.

In a previous community email sent out on March 8, the board emphasized the desire to hire a candidate with previous experience in community college administration. Hammond was the president of Mid Michigan College for six years, from June 2014 until June 2020. Her presidency saw the development of a career services center and emphasized degree completion.

Hammond also served as chief academic officer for North Central Michigan College. In that position, she implemented the Achieving the Dream initiative, which is a community college advisory program. Hammon also serves on the advisory board for CampusWorks, another external streamlining service “to develop and implement insightful strategies that improve institutional effectiveness and enhance the student experience,” as per their website.

The board will continue its search for a permanent president. Per the March 8 email, the appointed interim president cannot apply for the regular position. The board of trustees sent out a survey requesting feedback from community members, which can be found here. The deadline for the survey is June 30, 2024.

Hammond will be the fourth president of the college since the departure of Dr. Robert Breuder in 2015.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated once more information has been released.