Deanne Mazzochi will serve the board of trustees of College of DuPage (COD) as chairwoman for the third consecutive year. The Elmhurst resident was elected as chairwoman after a unanimous vote by fellow trustees at the board’s organizational meeting on April 19.

Trustee Joseph Wozniak was the only trustee absent from the board’s organizational meeting.

“Thank you very much for allowing me to serve in this role for the foreseeable future,” Mazzochi said. “When I came to the board in 2015, it was with the approach of ‘everybody please stop digging the hole.’ We have spent the last couple of years building a foundation. Given all of the new things that have been happening, it’s exciting that we are finally in a place where we have accreditation and we are in the mindset of building and growth.”

Mazzochi, serving a six-year term, was one of three “clean slate” candidates who ran and won seats on the board of trustees in April 2015. After the abrupt resignation of former Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton in December 2015, Mazzochi became the board’s acting chairwoman. With the support of Trustees Charles Bernstein, Frank Napolitano and former Trustee David Olsen, Mazzochi was elected to her first full-year term in April 2016 at an organizational meeting chaired by interim President Joseph Collins.

As chairwoman, Mazzochi has voted against raising the property tax levy and balanced the college’s budget amid the state’s budget impasse. Mazzochi takes credit for a series of reform that led to the Higher Learning Commission lifting of probation in November 2017.  

Mazzochi holds a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a bachelor’s degree in political science and chemistry from Boston University. She is the Republican Party’s nominee for the 47th district looking to replace Illinois General Assembly Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Patti Bellock.

Trustees also voted unanimously for Trustees Napolitano and Christine Fenne as vice chairman and secretary respectively. Napolitano is serving a six-year term and chairs the board’s budget committee. Fenne, who began her tenure on the board as secretary in 2017, will continue in the position for the second consecutive year.

Sonia Paul, elected as student trustee by students was also inducted into office. She replaced Anthony Walker. Walker was thanked by the board for his dedicated service and involvement with the college’s Living Leadership Program. He was presented with a photograph and plaque. Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns,” was donated to the library in his honor.

The board of trustees is the governing board of COD, comprised of seven members and a student trustee. The student trustee’s vote is non-binding. Elected board members and the student trustee will serve their unique roles until the next organizational meeting in 2019.