Earlier this year, the Presidential Search Committee had the difficult decision of narrowing down all of the College of Dupage presidential candidates into three finalists: Barbara Kavalier, Ann Rondeau, and David Sam. Last week, those three people were able to make their case to the general public and answer questions we’ve all been wanting to ask.

We found that all three candidates had amazing credentials. They are all leaders in what they do, and have worked long and hard to get to where they are. But there are certain aspects of a president that we at the Courier think stand out more than a glowing recommendation. We believe approachability and accessibility are key aspects of our future leader, and with this thought we found one person stood out in particular. This is why we are endorsing David Sam to be our next president at College of DuPage.

The issue we had with Kavalier is that she does not seem approachable to the students. Sure, she is a friendly face, but her clearly memorized stump speech gave us the impression she wouldn’t know how to talk to us if we were to just walk up to her in the hall. She made very few points about how she would reach out to us on a personal level, and gave off the idea that she cares more about working with the administration than the faculty and students. She seems to want to run the school from a distance, which is the opposite of what we need.

Ann Rondeau was a much better candidate. She has a plan for COD, and she intends to see it through. We found, however, her energy to be quite intense, and much like Kavalier we are concerned with her approachability on campus. Both women also lack the clear excitement at the concept of working for COD, unlike Sam. We did think she had potential for our school, though, and if things don’t work out with Sam we believe she would be a strong choice.

Sam, currently president of Elgin Community College, not only has credible work history, but he has experience as COD faculty. He has been a professor, an administrator and a college president throughout his career, and he seems to deeply understand how a school functions. He is also clearly passionate about the work he does, and excited about the prospect of working at COD again.

Sam understands that we, as a college community, are frustrated. When asked for his opening statement about what he wants to do to fix the school, he simply answered, “ I am supposed to talk about my vision, the president’s vision, for College of Dupage. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to disappoint you. Why? That statement is incomplete, and I am not going to give you the ‘dog ate my homework’ kind of excuse. It’s incomplete because I do not have any input from the student, faculty and staff at the college. How can I have a vision for this college without input from these segments, and in the community? And so, I have an incomplete vision to talk about.”

This is huge for us. Sam makes it clear right off the bat that his greatest concerns are making us feel heard and having a relationship with us. That is a necessary component to maintaining the sanctity and happiness of the college.

He also discussed our need for transparency in the next administration. The editorial “What we want in a new president” from our April 6 issue discusses how the president needs to regain our trust, and it’s no secret this is the best way to do it. In fact, Sam used this article to explain his argument. He understands he needs to work with us. He wants to hear our wants and needs and eventually come to a conclusion together.

Talk is one thing, but we at the Courier wanted to see if his actions held true to his word. So we interviewed with the Editor-in-Chief at the Elgin Observer, Angelica Cataldo, and asked her what she thought about Sam’s administration.

Cataldo spoke highly of his leading style saying, “I know he was hired and employed as our president in 2006. Now I came here in the fall of 2014, and I think what I like best that he did was just the fact that he kind of lets the college breathe and do what it wants, because I know student life has a very big hand in the events and things like that. As much as the administration does have a budget and things like that that they give out as money to fund these kind of events, he never put a leash or a tight on the throats of school administrators, school events and leaders, things like that.”

Later in the interview she mentioned, “I think the fact that he is very hands off but at the same time hands on to make sure he’s accessible, but without the noses of the administration in there. I think it’s kind of nice to know that although he is a leading power and a big role in the school, he’s not ‘big brother’ in a way. And I like that. I like someone who doesn’t necessarily have to have a control on every little thing that happens in the college. He kind of lets faculty, and student life and staff and things like that breathe, and do and be flexible with everything. “

During his forum, it was clear to us Sam was not reciting a memorized speech. He had discussions with reporters, club members and faculty. He is already making a point to be as open as possible and have a relationship with the school, and he hasn’t even been hired yet. More importantly, in his speech he explained how important it was to him to be involved in school activities. He’s made it clear that if he is hired he is going to be around. You will see him in the halls, at club meetings, at sports games. He wants you to know him.