our Leadership
GOVERNING BOARD
According to the University Center of Lake County By-laws, the Governing Board acts as the Board of Directors of the corporation and is composed of Up to 8 residents of Lake County, including one member of the College of Lake County Board of Trustees. Up to 6 representatives are from the member institutions including one student. Members shall reflect the diverse regions, groups, and employers that reside in the county. The representatives of member institutions shall include the Chairperson of the Council of Member Institutions and up to four other representatives chosen by the Council of Member Institutions from among its members. Of these four Governing Board positions, only one seat can be held by a representative of a proprietary institution. The student member shall be elected by the Center’s Student Advisory Committee.
2023 Governing Board Members
Julie Dunston – Chair, SIU
Luis Fuentes – Vice Chair, Community Member
Gerri Songer – Secretary, CLC Board of Trustees
Trevor James – Treasurer, NPU
Julie Shroka - Alternate, CLC Board of Trustees
​Kathy Johnson – Emeritus, University of Illinois, Springfield (Retired)
Kathryn Wozniak, CMI, CUC
Marisa Buscaglia – NLU
Melba Rivera - Community Member
R. Shayne Cofer – CMI Chair, NEIU
Rich Anderson, Community Member
Teddy Anderson, Community Member
Vacant - Student Representative
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COUNCIL OF MEMBER INSTITUTIONS
The Council of Member Institutions (CMI) is composed of institutional representatives appointed by the chief officer of each of the member institutions plus the College of Lake County. The CMI elects its chairperson, vice-chairperson, and representatives to serve on the Governing Board. Those elected to the Governing Board represent the CMI itself and not their individual colleges or universities. The slate of Governing Board candidates usually tries to achieve a balance of public university and private university representatives. They cannot serve on the Governing Board for more than three consecutive two-year terms. The Council considers a variety of matters including recommendations from various Center committees, and in turn advises and assists the Board in matters such as:
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facilitating inter-institutional communication.
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identifying needed instructional support facilities and services.
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assessing local needs.
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electing representatives to the Governing Board.
The CMI has significant responsibility for reviewing applications for membership and proposals to bring additional degree or certificate programs to the University Center. They make recommendations to the Governing Board about each program proposal or membership application and the Governing Board (or its Executive Committee) makes the final decision to approve or deny the applications/proposals.
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2022-2023 CMI Members
Shayne Cofer, Chair
Associate Provost, Northeastern Illinois University
Kathy Johnson, Vice-Chair
Regional Director, University Academic Programs & Services, University of Illinois Springfield
​​​Ali O'Brien
Vice President of Community & Workforce Partnerships, College of Lake County
​Kathryn Wozniak
Assistant Provost for Innovation & Strategic Partnerships/Associate Professor of Educational
Technology, Concordia University Chicago
​​Suzanne Depeder
Associate Vice President, Graduate and Adult Admission, DePaul University
Jake Bucher
Founding Dean, College of Applied Social Sciences, Dominican University
​​Ron Smith
Director of Community College Partnerships, Northern Illinois University
​​Marisa Buscaglia
Director of Enrollment, National Louis University
​​Trevor James
Associate Dean and Associate Professor/Director of the Business Program, School of
Professional Studies, North Park University
​​Julie Dunston
Director, School of Applied Engineering & Technology/Director, Technology Off Campus
Degree Programs, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
​​Elza Ibroscheva
Associate Provost & Professor, Mass Communications, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
​​Kelly Birky
Associate Director, Marketing & Strategic Communication, Center for Innovation in Teaching
and Learning, University of Illinois Urbana-Champagn
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2022 CMI meeting date: November 10, 2022