With the retirement of the College of DuPage President Brian Caputo coming at the end of the semester, COD looks to the board of trustees to find a suitable replacement. On March 8, the board sent an email informing the COD community they would be conducting an external search for an interim president. 

“The Board is committed to bringing in an external individual who has proven community college leadership experience,” the email reads. “It is important that the interim president possesses the ability to begin the role with minimal disruption to College of DuPage and to ensure that current college initiatives are sustained over the duration of the search.”

The March 8 announcement also detailed that the interim president would not be eligible to apply for the regular presidential position. For reference, Caputo was originally hired back as interim president in January 2019 after his predecessor, Ann Rondeau, left the position. He was contracted to start as the official COD president on July 1, 2019. Even before being named interim president, Caputo worked as vice president for Administrative Affairs and chief financial officer for COD. 

The announcement that Caputo would be retiring came at the beginning of this semester. The administration had sent out an anonymous survey for the COD community, in particular the students, faculty and staff, asking for their thoughts on what they want in the next president. The survey was sent out on Feb. 6 and closed on Feb. 12 and ended with a total of 346 responses.

In the March 8 announcement, the board of trustees also mentioned Human Resources vice president Bill Dial would assist the board of trustees in searching for the next COD president. Dial mentioned that the most common response to the survey was an interim president who could fit in and help carry the institution and its goals forward. He also mentioned that a majority of the responses were from faculty and staff. Due to this feedback, the board of trustees elected to search for an external candidate. 

“It was decided by the board of trustees that this was the most appropriate strategy to move the college forward while conducting the search for the permanent presidential position,” he said.

Dial will also help in completing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to help aid in the presidential search. The RFP will help detail the game plan for the board’s steps for their hiring process; this includes the selection of a search firm that will assist in finding the new COD president and setting up a timeline of when the board hopes to elect the next president. The RFP is in the process of being finalized with the board and Dial.

At the last board of trustees meeting on Feb. 15, trustee Annette K. Corrigan recounted her time spent at the Association of Community College Trustees National Legislative Summit. Corrigan attended a seminar about how to conduct an effective search for a community college president and said the notes she took would help the board in their search for a new leader.

“It was very informative and very timely for us,” Corrigan said. “I’m very excited to share that information [with the board].” 

With this information, the board of trustees hopes to reveal their pick soon, according to Dial. He echoed the same sentiment of the board in their March 8 announcement.

“The board of trustees is committed to hiring a president who will ensure that College of DuPage remains a nationally recognized community college,” he said. “[Who will honor] our history and past while navigating us strategically into the future.”

This is an ongoing situation. Courier will continue to update as the story progresses.