Joliet Junior College Approves 3-Year Contract for New President

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees approved a three-year contract with Dr. Judy Mitchell at their Nov. 7 meeting, after unanimously appointing her to be the college’s ninth president at their September meeting.

“The continued support I’ve received from students, employees, the community, and our board has been overwhelming and that support means a great deal to me,” Dr. Mitchell said in a news release. “I will continue to invest in the college that invested so much in me as a returning adult student over 20 years ago. I will continue to do what I can to make JJC everyone’s first choice.”

The contract runs through Sept. 1, 2019. Dr. Mitchell will receive an annual base salary of $220,000.

During her interim presidency, Mitchell has undertaken a number of initiatives. She gave the first-ever State of the College address in August, sharing important college updates and future goals with area legislators, educators, and business owners. She held a number of college-wide open meetings, in an effort to hear from employees and provide transparency in the college budgeting process.
She currently is a member of Joliet Rotary, Will County Workforce Investment Board, Three Rivers Education Employment System, Three Rivers Education Partnership, and United Way/Combined Charities.

Additionally, she has led the college budgeting process through the state of Illinois’ fiscal crisis and helped the college reduce its operating costs by over $2 million over four years, in addition to encouraging the pursuit of creative revenue sources like grant dollars to offset operational costs. In FY15, the college garnered more than $5.4 million in grants to offset operational costs.

Under her leadership, the college’s financial team was awarded the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the FY2016 budget. This marks the 11th year in a row JJC has received the award for its budget, which is only given to government bodies that meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting and achieve standards of excellence in financial reporting.