City Colleges of Chicago Announces New President of Kennedy-King College

CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees voted today to select Dr. Joyce Ester as the next President of Kennedy-King College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, concluding a nation-wide search for presidents of all seven colleges that began in winter 2011.

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"City Colleges of Chicago is committed to providing our students with credentials of economic value to prepare them for further college or a career," said Board Chairman Martin Cabrera Jr.  "With this presidential selection, Chancellor Hyman and I will have assembled a team that will enable us to achieve our ambitious student success goals and transform City Colleges of Chicago into a world-class community college system."

"Dr. Joyce Ester brings extensive experience in higher education administration with a special focus on student affairs and has demonstrated a track record of results-driven leadership that will allow us to build off Kennedy-King College's strong occupational and academic programs and enhance the college's role as a community anchor for Chicago's South Side," said Chancellor Hyman.

"City Colleges of Chicago is in the midst of a historic Reinvention and I am thrilled to be part of a team that is laser-focused on ensuring student success," said Dr. Ester.  "I look forward to working with the faculty and staff of Kennedy-King College to help our students reach their goals whether they aim to immediately secure employment, advance in their current career, or transfer to further their education."

Dr. Joyce Ester brings more than twenty years' experience in higher education administration and currently serves as Associate Vice President for Student Services at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, CA, where she is responsible for the planning, developing, managing and evaluating of comprehensive Student Services programs.  She oversees a student services division of approximately 100 employees who administer the college's Counseling & Advising Service, Transfer Services, Enrollment Services/Admissions, Assessment Services, Financial Aid, Student Activities, Disabled Students Programs & Services, Articulation, Job Placement, Matriculation, Student Health Center, and Commencement.  She previously served as Assistant Vice President for Judicial Affairs and Division Planning at California State University in Fresno, CA, as Assistant Dean of Students/Judicial Affairs at the University of California Santa Barbara, and as an American Sign Language Adjunct Professor at Santa Barbara City College.  Dr. Ester holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a B.A. in Sociology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb.

The City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees passed a resolution in January holding itself accountable for student success and, in February, created a similar resolution for all CCC staff.  As a result, the Board changed the job description for CCC presidents to include accountability for the student success goals and launched a national search for candidates.   An advisory committee composed of faculty, staff, students, and the community, participated in the selection process and recommended a final candidate to Board Chairman Cabrera and Chancellor Hyman.

Dr. Ester will begin work in early December, joining the system's six Presidents: Daley College: Dr. Jose Aybar; Malcolm X College: Dr. Anthony Munroe; Olive-Harvey College: Dr. Craig T. Follins; Truman College: Dr. Reagan Romali; Wright College: Jim Palos and Harold Washington College: Donald J. Laackman.

Dr. Ester will hold a formal introduction to faculty, staff, students and the community in the coming weeks.

About City Colleges

The City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), District 508, is the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation, with 5,800 faculty and staff serving 120,000 students at seven campuses and thirteen satellite sites city-wide.  The City Colleges of Chicago is in the midst of a Reinvention, a collaborative effort to review and revise CCC programs and practices to ensure students leave CCC college-ready, career-ready and prepared to pursue their life's goals.

CCC includes seven colleges: Richard J. Daley College, Kennedy-King College, Malcolm X College, Olive-Harvey College, Harry S Truman College, Harold Washington College and Wilbur Wright College.  The system also oversees: The Washburne Trade School, the French Pastry School, two restaurants, five Child Development Centers, the Center for Distance Learning, the Workforce Institute, the public broadcast station WYCC-TV Channel 20 and radio station WKKC, 89.3 FM.  

For more information about City Colleges of Chicago, dial: (773) COLLEGE, or visit www.reinventingccc.org.

SOURCE City Colleges of Chicago