Wisconsin community college leader chosen as CLC's next president
After a monthslong search, College of Lake County trustees have chosen Lori Suddick of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to be the college's next president.
College board Chairman Richard Anderson said Suddick's leadership abilities and the high marks she received from CLC faculty and students during the interview process helped her stand apart from four other finalists.
"We've got to adapt and move forward with new ideas, and we think she will position us for that," Anderson said, noting challenges CLC will face with less state funding and more competition from for-profit schools.
The best thing community colleges can do in the face of such challenges is perform at the highest level to support student success, Suddick said Tuesday.
"The thing other markets can't do is the breadth of work a community college can deliver to its community, a low-cost, high-quality education," she said. "My job coming in is figuring out where CLC is meeting that need and where our opportunities are."
Suddick is in the process of moving her family - which includes her husband, three children and two dogs - to Lake County. She has spent her entire 18-year academic career at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, Wisconsin, starting as a faculty member and working her way up to her current role as vice president of learning and chief academic officer.
"I have had a great and rewarding career at this college and I've spent the last five years working to transition to a presidency," she said. "I really wanted a presidency in the Midwest because it certainly is where my heart is."
Suddick was selected last year to be part of the Aspen Institute's Presidential Fellowship, a highly selective yearlong program to prepare 40 academic leaders for community college presidencies.
Anderson said one of the board's goals is for CLC to compete for The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a $1 million award given every two years by the Aspen Institute. He believes Suddick will help make CLC a candidate.
Suddick plans to assume the presidency May 1. Interim President Richard Haney could stay on for a time during the transition, Anderson said.
"Haney has always been a team player and has always loved CLC," Anderson said. "He and his staff have done a terrific job during the interim period and we're grateful for that."
Suddick will receive a three-year contract with an annual salary of $260,000. The board will vote on the contract at its Dec. 19 meeting.