As year closes, President Winfree looks at Prairie State’s future with hope

Since being installed in May 2013, President Terri Winfree hit the ground running.

Her primary focus has been finding ways to grow and expand the opportunities that Prairie State College offers not only in academics in the classroom, but in athletics and career training as well.

 The presidency, which she has called her dream job, has been eye opening. Dr. Winfree says, “People share with me some things now that they hadn’t shared before, and I wasn’t even aware of some of the opportunities, and that’s where it really gets to be even more exciting.”

One of the many pieces of the President’s vision is program expansion. President Winfree’s common theme this year has been reaching financial sustainability and finding new, creative, ways to bring revenue into the college to offset the sharp decline in government funding.

Dr. Winfree has spent her first year going between Chicago Heights and Springfield making proposals to Governor Pat Quinn, who taught here in the past, and the Illinois State Legislature for money to develop some of PSC’s programs.

“We know that Governor Quinn is supportive of us, supportive of the college,” she says.

Currently, she is collaborating with a lobbyist to obtain funds to update the advanced manufacturing program, specifically, the welding and commercial driver’s license programs. The money is needed to update training equipment and curriculum to keep students on top of changes in factory and welding technology, and in turn, benefit the local economy.

Another way she plans to rejuvenate the campus is through private donations and grants, saying that the administration has a framework on what to do when they apply for grants in the future, specifically making positions for incoming grants.

Winfree also wants to establish creative partnerships that can help bring money in, one example being that the President and other cabinet members have signed up to become members of Rotary International.

“Our intention is to bring students to meetings with us and eventually start a college level Rotary Club on-campus,” Winfree says.

The President currently has a proposal and plans drawn up to present to a potential local benefactor of PSC in the coming weeks to raise money for the update of the outdoor sports facilities on Joe Orr Road.

Referring to documents, she says, “We explained that our soccer field is not usable, our tennis court is not usable, and we’re showing the benefits of having something [updated facilities], how successful students are in extracurricular [activities], how successful they are in the classroom to bring it all together.”

Due to the bad shape of the outdoor facilities, teams are unable to practice, let alone, host conference tournaments at home.

“We have gotten $126,000 to repair the tennis courts,” Winfree says, “this is what our dream is...we had renderings drawn to show what it can be like. This would be for the whole entire community not just for us.” The open usage of the new fields would be part of the school’s ongoing mission to be a good partner with the communities surrounding PSC.

When it comes to PSC faculty, President Winfree beams with joy, saying that she wants to provide professors with professional development to produce more innovative ways to teach students.

“No longer do we think outside the box, let’s remove the box,” Winfree says.  With nine PSC professors winning the John and Suanne Roueche Excellence awards from The League for Innovation in the Community College, President Winfree boasts “You couldn’t convince me that there are better faculty at other places than what we have right here. I really believe that and I see it every day.”

When President Winfree, who was formerly the Vice President of Community and Economic Development, was appointed President of Prairie State, her other vice presidents were also offered college presidencies or positions elsewhere in the US, leaving three of the four VP positions vacant.

The cabinet is now full with the appointment of Dr. Thomas D. Saban as Vice President of Finance and Administration in the Fall Semester; Dr. Marie Hansel as Vice President of Academic Affairs; and Craig Schmidt as the Vice President of Community and Economic Development. 

While getting the team together was quite hectic at the start, Dr. Winfree feels that they are hitting a good stride. Dr. Winfree says that the team brings expertise from many fields, ranging from foodservice to healthcare, which brings many different perspectives to the board room. 

As it comes to a close, President Terri Winfree says that this year has been a dream. Citing her alumni status, she says she hopes that students live to become a success.

“I did that, I’m an example of ‘Start Near, Go Far.’ It shows success.” She says that she failed seven classes in the past, but with work and dedication she was able to graduate from Prairie State College.

At the end of her first year, though as president she says, “I would like to say that as a cabinet, as a college we’re getting straight A’s.”