JOLIET – The Joliet Junior College board on Tuesday unanimously approved Judy Mitchell as the college’s ninth president without ever taking applications for the job.
Mitchell, who has been at JJC for 20 years, has been interim president since Debra Daniels’ sudden resignation in March.
Board trustees and faculty leaders commended Mitchell for bringing the college a new spirit of openness in less than six months of leadership, making comments that at times suggested what led to Daniels’ departure.
“Frankly it seems like the staff and the people who worked here were not thrilled with the way it was going,” Trustee Patty Deiters said of the campus mood when she joined the board a year ago. “With Dr. Mitchell it seems like the stress was lifted off their shoulders.”
Not everyone was happy with the college’s leader being chosen without the board taking résumés for the job, however.
“I feel as a board member I didn’t get a chance to interview her,” Trustee Alicia Morales said.
Morales and board Vice Chairman Andy Mihelich both said they would have preferred a search process but would not stand against the will of the board.
In brief remarks, Mitchell thanked those who supported her and said, “We need to work together. We need to support one another.”
Bob Marcink, president of the faculty union, called on the board before its vote to hire Mitchell, saying the college has gone through too many starts and stops because of presidents and other administrators leaving after a few years.
“At times we’ve had direction, but the direction changes abruptly, “ Marcink said. He compared Mitchell with J.D. Ross, a popular president who was hired without a search process because of his experience at JJC after the college had gone through short-term leadership.
Mitchell also is a JJC graduate, having earned an associate degree in 1998.
She also was backed by Al Kennedy, president of the adjunct faculty union, and Austin Stacy, president of the student government. Mitchell started at JJC as an administrative assistant in 1996 and worked her way up to vice president of administrative services in 2012. She held that position before being named interim president.
She received her doctorate degree in community college leadership from National-Louis University in 2012. She has a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in business and technology from Governors State University.
