Overview

City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) has opened the search for the president of Kennedy-King College, one of its seven community colleges. Kennedy-King College’s main campus is located in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, and its satellite location, Dawson Technical Institute, is located in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The president of Kennedy-King College reports to the chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago.

Kennedy-King College adheres to City Colleges’ vision to be recognized as the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity – empowering all Chicagoans to take part in building a stronger and more just city. City Colleges’ leadership seeks a presidential candidate to carry forth its vision, core values, and Kennedy-King College’s own determination to transform lives and communities through the power of education by providing accessible and educational, culturally diverse, exceptional, and globally competitive programs that empower all learners to achieve their intellectual, social, and economic goals.

Position

The delivery of higher education opportunities in the city of Chicago and the historic neighborhood of Englewood, where Kennedy-King College is located, demands highly professional and deeply personal leadership. The preferred candidate must arrive with a collaborative spirit and an energetic, authentic commitment to being a part of the cultural fabric of the internal academic and external communities. This individual will carry the mindset of a servant leader with a hands-on delivery of informed, thoughtful, collegial guidance of the academic enterprise.

The new president will be expected to address necessary change, to be transformational, and must be the proud voice and vision of Kennedy-King as reflected in its name, history, students, and alumni. Additional qualities include the following:

  • Caring, teach-first, student-centered learning focus with knowledge of the traditional and non-traditional learner;
  • Ability to ensure that policies governing student issues enhance the learning environment and support student well-being and success;
  • Background in career and technical education, liberal arts transfer programs, adult and continuing education, and workforce development;
  • Experience with planning initiatives and successful delivery to support the continued progress of the 2021-2025 strategic plan;
  • Competence in budgeting, financial management, fundraising, and identifying new external funding sources;
  •  Knowledge of enrollment management strategies with bold, innovative outlooks to support growth, retention, and access for credit and non-credit programs;
  • Respect for the balance between shared governance practices and fair, responsible leadership for all college constituencies;
  • Practice the tenets of social justice, carrying out all parts of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness values;
  • Engage business, industry, and corporate Chicago to benefit the college and its students’ learning and experiential success;
  • Articulate and collaborative ambassador of the college with the District Office, community, city, and statewide entities, including K-12 and other institutions of higher education;
  • Understand, embrace, and advance the needs of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood with the power of the college’s “Beacon of Light” presence; and
  • Commitment to equity, social justice, diversity, and a culture of inclusiveness at all levels for the college community.

The preferred candidate will have an earned doctorate or terminal degree with senior level administrative and/or teaching experience at an urban community college.

Presidential Search Committee

Mark Potter, Chair
Provost
City Colleges of Chicago

Enid Wells
Associate Professor, Media Communications
Kennedy-King College

Meryl Junious
Professor, Communications
Kennedy-King College

Ayndreille Ward
Associate Professor, Math
Kennedy-King College

Jacqueline Graham-Sylvestal
Assistant Professor, Human Sciences
Kennedy-King College

Adam Carey
Assistant Professor, Librarian
Kennedy-King College

Shandria Holmes
Dean, Instruction
Kennedy-King College

Inesha Kelly
Dean, Dawson Technical Institute
Kennedy-King College

Zalika Landrum
Associate Dean, Student Services
Kennedy-King College

Amadou Dia
President, Student Government Association (SGA)
Kennedy-King College

Elaina Frieson
Member, Student Government Association (SGA)
Kennedy-King College

Edward Calahan
President
Calahan Funeral Home

Cecelia Bolden
Chief Development and Diversity Officer
SDI Presence

 

Nominations and Applications

For best consideration, nominations and applications should be received by April 14, 2023. The application must include a letter of interest (not more than three pages); a current résumé (or curriculum vitae); and the names of five professional references with each person’s position, office or home address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers.

­­­Nominations and applications should be sent electronically (MS Word or PDF format) to kennedykingpresident@agbsearch.com. All applications will remain confidential pending the selection of finalists. The new president may assume office on or about July 1, 2023.

The City Colleges of Chicago does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, disability, military status, order of protection status, genetic information, political affiliation, membership or lawful participation in the activities of any organization, or the exercise of rights guaranteed by local, state, or federal law with respect to hire, terms and conditions of employment, continued employment, admissions, or participation in Board programs, services, or activities. The lack of English language skills shall not be a barrier to admission or participation in the City Colleges of Chicago’s activities and programs. 

About Kennedy-King College

Kennedy-King College embodies the commitment to academic excellence and civic responsibility espoused by its namesakes, civil and human rights activists Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. KKC’s main campus is in Englewood on the South Side of Chicago and includes the Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute. Its satellite campus, Dawson Technical Institute, is located in Bronzeville, also on the South Side.

At Kennedy-King College, more than 600 employees serve over 3,250 students. KKC is a comprehensive community college, offering credit classes in a wide

range of subjects, as well as continuing education classes, and free high school diploma prep and ESL courses.

It is City Colleges’ Center of Excellence in Culinary and Hospitality, as well as Construction Technology education, and is an emerging center of equity in the arts. The college is also home to the Kennedy-King Tech Launchpad.

Culinary and hospitality courses are offered at Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute, where students receive hands-on training at restaurants serving the public, including on-campus restaurant Sikia. Dawson Technical Institute offers educational programs to prepare students for career opportunities in construction technology, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration, and more. It maintains strong partnerships with companies such as ComEd and Peoples Gas, and with major trade unions representing workers in the field, to ensure a high-quality curriculum and to help students transition into in-demand jobs upon program completion.

In recent years, Kennedy-King College was recognized as a top-10 finalist for the prestigious Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, and earlier this year, the college was selected as one of ten participants for the Achieving the Dream’s “Accelerating Equitable Outcomes” initiative. Participating colleges are identified as those that “choose transformation over tradition, curiosity over inaction, and innovation over the status quo.”

Kennedy-King College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college has three academic programs that are accredited by specialty accreditors: Addiction Studies, Automotive Technology, and Child Development.

As one of the City Colleges of Chicago, Kennedy-King College is governed by the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees.