Oakton President Joianne Smith: Putting the community in community colleges

llinois has played a prominent role in the development of the community and junior college movement in the United States. Joliet Junior College, established in 1901, was the first public junior college in the nation. The brain child of University of Chicago President William Rainey Harper and Joliet Township High School Superintendent J. Stanley Brown, the goal of the college was to serve students who desired to remain within the community but still pursue a college education.

Today, the Illinois Community College System is thriving, enhancing the communities they serve by responding to local needs in each of the state’s 39 public community college districts. Locally-elected boards enhance this ability to provide affordable education in the community and also maintain accountability at the local level.

The Board of Trustees of Oakton Community College governs the college’s operations, ensuring the college is responsive to community needs, is properly managing its resources and enabling student success. The board consists of seven elected trustees who serve staggered six-year terms in addition to a student trustee who is elected on a yearly basis by the student body. The board conducts monthly public meetings throughout the year.

Because Oakton serves a diverse population, programs and services are varied and are specific to the district the college serves. That means that programs run in one district, such as Triton, may not be operated in Oakton’s district or may be emphasized and executed in a different manner. This is the embodiment of local governance and service.

As the community’s college, Oakton’s operations can be broken down into five “buckets,” based on the needs of the district, including the following:
• Academic programs-These include associate degree and certificate programs and other credentials, dual-credit programs with local high schools and four-year colleges, and programs that provide credit for prior learning.
• Workforce education-This area includes career certificates and credentials, apprenticeships, community education units (CEU), technical education, and adult education programs such as English as a second language (ESL) and general educational development (GED) for residents. Students can also take career and technical education courses while in high school.
• Corporate training solutions-Partnerships with area businesses provide them with a skilled workforce to be competitive in a 21st century global economy. Oakton offers customized training programs and professional development on a contract basis. Clients include Skokie-based Woodward as well as Glenview-based Abt Electronics among others.
• Talent Acquisition- Oakton’s career services department works with area business to provide opportunities for students to launch and further their careers while serving business with a pipeline for well-trained employees. Internships also provide students with valuable experience and companies with educated workers. Healthcare partnerships with local institutions provide job opportunities for our many graduates, as do relationships with local government in areas of law enforcement, fire protection and emergency response.
• Community Education-Personal enrichment courses allow students to explore personal interests such as becoming proficient in a foreign language, learning how to dance or improving knowledge of Microsoft Office. These enrichment courses are geared toward the lifelong learner-including special programs for those 55 and older as part of Oakton’s Emeritus Program, which also provide valuable social opportunities.

Oakton is among the state’s leaders in adult and continuing education, collaborating with Maine, Niles, Northfield and Evanston Township high school districts to form an educational partnership called the Alliance for Lifelong Learning. Neighborhood-based programs are run from these school locations in addition to those developed in cooperation with local churches, community centers, libraries and shopping malls, to better serve the needs and interests of district residents. With classes available for children to senior citizens during the daytime, evenings and weekends, any district resident is welcome to attend any class at any location.

Relationships in the community-through college personnel and also through the college’s board of trustees-are critical to maintaining a high level of service. With more than 30,000 students enrolled in credit and non-credit programs at campuses in Des Plaines and Skokie in addition to community locations across the district, Oakton is focused on successful outcomes for its students-no matter their personal goals-and helping the residents within the district boundaries lead better, more successful and more fulfilled lives.

Joianne L. Smith, Oakton Community College’s fourth president, continues the college’s strong tradition of student success. During her years at Oakton prior to being selected president, Smith worked tirelessly to increase student engagement and to promote an inclusive and caring environment for teaching and learning. Her “All for One” initiative is intended to move the college forward in terms of key student success metrics with a wildly important goal of improving fall-to-fall new student persistence by eight percent.

Smith’s presidency began on July 1, 2015, following 13 years of service to Oakton as dean of students (2002-2004) and later, vice president for Student Affairs (2005-2015). Her prior experience includes assistant director of University Residence Life at Northwestern University (2001-2002), dean of Brainerd Commons at Middlebury College (1999-2001) and work as a licensed psychologist, a license she still maintains in the state of Illinois.